vital
Use Vital in a sentence
l adjective
1.
of or pertaining to life: vital processes.
2.
having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality: a vital leader.
3.
being the seat or source of life: the vital organs.
4.
necessary to life: vital fluids.
5.
necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential: vital for a healthy society.
6.
affecting the existence, well-being, truth, etc., of something: a vital error.
7.
of critical importance: vital decisions.
8.
destructive to life; deadly: a vital wound.
Origin:
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
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
Related forms
vi·tal·ly, adverb
vi·tal·ness, noun
non·vi·tal, adjective
non·vi·tal·ly, adverb
non·vi·tal·ness, noun
qua·si-vi·tal, adjective
qua·si-vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal, adjective
su·per·vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal·ness, noun
un·vi·tal, adjective
un·vi·tal·ly, adverb
un·vi·tal·ness, noun
Synonyms
5. important, critical.
5. important, critical.
00:10
Vital
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To vital
Collins
World English Dictionary
vital (ˈvaɪtəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | essential to maintain life: the lungs perform a vital function |
| 2. | forceful, energetic, or lively: a vital person |
| 3. | of, relating to, having, or displaying life: a vital organism |
| 4. | indispensable or essential: books vital to this study |
| 5. | of great importance; decisive: a vital game |
| 6. | archaic influencing the course of life, esp negatively: a vital treachery |
| —n | |
| 7. | (plural) |
| a. the bodily organs, such as the brain, liver, heart, lungs, etc, that are necessary to maintain life | |
| b. the organs of reproduction, esp the male genitals | |
| 8. | (plural) the essential elements of anything |
| [C14: via Old French from Latin vītālis belonging to life, from vīta life] | |
| 'vitally | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
vital
late 14c., "of or manifesting life," from L. vitalis "of or belonging to life," from vita "life," related to vivere "to live," from PIE base *gwei- (cf. O.Pers. *jivaka- "alive;" Gk. bios "life," zoon "animal;" Lith. gyvata "(eternal) life;" O.E. cwic, cwicu "living, alive;" O.Ir. bethu "life;" cf.
also bio-). The sense of "necessary or important" is from 1610s, via the notion of "essential to life" (late 15c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
vital vi·tal (vīt'l)
adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of life.
Necessary to the continuation of life.
Used or done on a living cell or tissue, as in staining.
Destructive to life; fatal, as of an injury.
vitals vi·tals (vīt'lz)
pl.n.
The vital body organs.
The parts that are essential to continued functioning, as of a system.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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FOLDOC
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| vitals vital signs (pulse rate, temperature, respiratory rate) |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Without these essential proteins, vital chemical reactions would occur far too slowly, if at all.
There is a healthy and vital debate about how best to change hospital incentives.
For example, the mice have major deficits in the hippocampus, a brain area vital for learning and memory.
And the problem with laminitis wasn't that it directly affected the vital organs.
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