vital

[ vahyt-l ]
See synonyms for vital on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of or relating to life: vital processes.

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

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

  2. necessary to life: vital fluids.

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

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

  5. of critical importance: vital decisions.

  6. destructive to life; deadly: a vital wound.

Origin of vital

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) “life” (derivative of vīvere “to live”; akin to Greek bioûn, Sanskrit jīvati “(he) lives,” English quick) + -ālis -al1

Other words for vital

Other words from vital

  • vi·tal·ly, adverb
  • vi·tal·ness, noun
  • non·vi·tal, adjective
  • non·vi·tal·ly, adverb
  • non·vi·tal·ness, noun
  • quasi-vital, 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for vital

vital

/ (ˈvaɪtəl) /


adjective
  1. essential to maintain life: the lungs perform a vital function

  2. forceful, energetic, or lively: a vital person

  1. of, relating to, having, or displaying life: a vital organism

  2. indispensable or essential: books vital to this study

  3. of great importance; decisive: a vital game

  4. archaic influencing the course of life, esp negatively: a vital treachery

noun
  1. (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

  2. (plural) the essential elements of anything

Origin of vital

1
C14: via Old French from Latin vītālis belonging to life, from vīta life

Derived forms of vital

  • vitally, adverb

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