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vital definition

vi·tal (vīt′'l)

adjective

  1. of, concerned with, or manifesting life vital energy
    1. necessary or essential to life; being a source or support of life vital organs
    2. affecting, esp. destroying, life; critical, esp. fatal a vital wound
    1. essential to the existence or continuance of something; indispensable a vital function
    2. of crucial importance a vital matter
  4. affecting the validity, truth, etc. of something a vital error
  5. full of life and vigor; energetic a vital personality

Etymology: ME < MFr < L vitalis, vital < vita, life, akin to vivere, to live: see bio-

noun

  1. the vital organs, as the heart, brain, lungs, etc.
  2. the essential parts of anything, indispensable for its existence, continuance, etc.

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical vital definition - medical

vital Synonyms

vital

modif.

  1. Necessary

    essential, contribute, indispensable, requisite; see important 1, necessary 1.

  2. Alive

    live, animate, animated; see alive 1.

  3. Vigorous

    lively, energetic, lusty; see active 1, 2. See syn. study at alive.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

vital Usage Examples

Preposition: that

  • everyone: It is vital that everyone is made aware of the elections and have the opportunity to nominate.

Modifies a noun

  • role: Key Stage Three | Key Stage Four | Key Stage Five | General Music plays a vital role in the life of the School.

Modifying Another Word

  • absolutely: In fact, SEO is absolutely vital to your search engine marketing success.

Preposition: because

  • dump: It is so vital because the dump will take 2 years to build according to a former employe of Veolia.

Infinitive complement

  • ensure: Confidence for consumers All these stages are vital to ensure the consumer receives the amount of fuel for which they are charged.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Put simply, Quaker networks proved vital to the pursuit of Quaker commerce.

Preposition: for

  • wellbeing: An efficient transport system is vital for economic wellbeing and the quality of life.
vital usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

vital quotes

No matter how vital experiencemight be whileyou lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.

-Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson

vital quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"vital." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/vital>

APA Style

vital. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/vital

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