vital

(vītˈl)

1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of life: See Synonyms at living.
2. Necessary to the continuation of life; life-sustaining: a vital organ; vital nutrients.
3. Full of life; animated: “The population of the teeming, vital slum . . . declined” (Rick Hampson).
4. Imparting life or animation; invigorating: the sun's vital rays.
5. Necessary to continued existence or effectiveness; essential: “Irrigation was vital to early civilization” (William H. McNeill). “A vital component of any democracy is a free labor movement” (Bayard Rustin).
6. Concerned with or recording data pertinent to lives: vital records.
7. Biology Used or done on a living cell or tissue: vital dyes; vital staining.
8. Destructive to life; fatal: a vital injury.

Related Forms:

• viˈtal·ly adverb

• viˈtal·ness noun