vital

[ vahyt-l ]

/ ˈvaɪt l /

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See synonyms for: vital / vitally / vitalness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or relating to life: vital processes.

having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality: a vital leader.

being the seat or source of life: the vital organs.

necessary to life: vital fluids.

necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential: vital for a healthy society.

affecting the existence, well-being, truth, etc., of something: a vital error.

of critical importance: vital decisions.

destructive to life; deadly: a vital wound.

OTHER WORDS FOR vital

5 important, critical.

See synonyms for vital on Thesaurus.com

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of vital

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) life (derivative of vīvere to live; akin to Greek bíesthai,Sanskrit jīvati (he) lives, English quick) + -ālis-al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM vital

vi·tal·ly, adverbvi·tal·ness, nounnon·vi·tal, adjectivenon·vi·tal·ly, adverb

non·vi·tal·ness, nounquasi-vital, adjectivequa·si-vi·tal·ly, adverbsu·per·vi·tal, adjectivesu·per·vi·tal·ly, adverbsu·per·vi·tal·ness, nounun·vi·tal, adjectiveun·vi·tal·ly, adverbun·vi·tal·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vital in a sentence

Local essential is for small retailers and local SEO for multiple locations is vital for enterprises and Now that you can’t count on previous experience, it’s critical to tap into your search insights.
Five SEO tips to dominate local search this holiday season|Jim Yu|November 20, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Food is scarce in this remote environment, and fish carcasses and detritus drifting down from shallower waters are a vital source of nutrition.
Researchers found signs of human pollution in animals living six miles beneath the sea|Kate Baggaley|November 19, 2020|Popular-Science
Lastly, there is no better time than now for cybersecurity leaders in these affected industries to build coalitions with fellow executives and board members for the vital work cybersecurity teams are performing to protect the company’s operations.
How bad actors could sabotage a COVID vaccine—and how that can be prevented|jakemeth|November 18, 2020|Fortune
Although big questions surrounded the evolution of function in these young genes, the assumption was that they were basically bells and whistles, providing only small, inessential advantages and improvements, not anything vital to survival.
Scientists Find Vital Genes Evolving in Genome’s Junkyard|Viviane Callier|November 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine

As online usage is increasing and consumers’ heads are turning to online purchases, it’s vital to have a strong search presence for your business.
Top strategies behind link building success|Tereza Litsa|November 16, 2020|Search Engine Watch
This reason alone may be why these comedians are vitally needed.
Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS|Dean Obeidallah|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is, of course, vitally important to remember how Church policies affect children.
What’s the Catholic Church’s Problem With Couples Without Children?|Candida Moss, Joel Baden|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is vitally important for these patients to keep holding on.
'Genie, You're Free': Suicide Is Not Liberation|Russell Saunders|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was vitally important, as it were, to make nice with ICE.
U.S. Visas Helped Fuel the Juárez Drug Wars|Jason McGahan|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He speaks, impressively but also vitally, fluent German, French, and Italian.
Adventures in Gay History With Oscar Wilde|Tim Teeman|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was as sensitive to atmosphere of this sad play of life as nearly and as vitally as the deserted wife.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete|Gilbert Parker
It is like looking through moving media of changing hue and variable refraction at something vitally unstable.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells
Average Jones became vitally concerned in removing an infinitesimal speck from his left cuff.
Average Jones|Samuel Hopkins Adams
Neither ordinary accidents, nor the characters of individuals, can ever again be so vitally important as they then were.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Our thriving neighbor, Hoboken, just across the Hudson River, has a large and vitally important problem to solve.
Scientific American Supplement No. 299|Various

British Dictionary definitions for vital

vital

/ (ˈvaɪtəl) /

adjective

essential to maintain lifethe lungs perform a vital function

forceful, energetic, or livelya vital person

of, relating to, having, or displaying lifea vital organism

indispensable or essentialbooks vital to this study

of great importance; decisivea vital game

archaic influencing the course of life, esp negativelya vital treachery

noun

(plural)

the bodily organs, such as the brain, liver, heart, lungs, etc, that are necessary to maintain life
the organs of reproduction, esp the male genitals

(plural) the essential elements of anything

Derived forms of vital

vitally, adverb

Word Origin for vital

C14: via Old French from Latin vītālis belonging to life, from vīta life

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

vital

OTHER WORDS FOR vital

Origin of vital

OTHER WORDS FROM vital

Words related to vital

How to use vital in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vital

Derived forms of vital

Word Origin for vital