vital

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

vi·tal

(vīt′l)

adj.

a. Of, relating to, or characteristic of life: vital strength. See Synonyms at living.

b. Necessary to the continuation of life; life-sustaining: a vital organ; vital nutrients.

c. Used or done on a living cell or tissue: vital dyes; vital staining.

d. Concerned with or recording data pertinent to lives: vital records.

2. Full of life or energy; animated: "The population of the teeming, vital slum ... declined" (Rick Hampson).

a. Necessary to continued existence or effectiveness: "Irrigation was vital to early civilization" (William H. McNeill).

b. Extremely important; essential: "A vital component of any democracy is a free labor movement" (Bayard Rustin).

4. Destructive to life; fatal: a vital injury.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin vītālis, from vīta, life; see g^wei- in Indo-European roots.]

vi′tal·ly adv.

vi′tal·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vital

(ˈvaɪtəl)

adj

1. (Biology) essential to maintain life: the lungs perform a vital function.

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

3. (Biology) 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.

7. (Anatomy) (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]

ˈvitally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vi•tal

(ˈvaɪt l)

adj.

1. of, pertaining to, or necessary to life: vital processes.

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

3. necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; essential.

4. of critical importance: vital decisions.

5. deadly: a vital wound.

[1350–1400; < Latin vītālis=vīt(a) life, derivative of vīvere to live (akin to bio-, quick, Skt jīvati (he) lives) + -ālis -al¹]

vi′tal•ly, adv.

vi′tal•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	vital - urgently needed; absolutely necessary; "a critical element of the plan"; "critical medical supplies"; "vital for a healthy society"; "of vital interest" critical indispensable - not to be dispensed with; essential; "foods indispensable to good nutrition"
	2.	vital - performing an essential function in the living body; "vital organs"; "blood and other vital fluids"; "the loss of vital heat in shock"; "a vital spot"; "life-giving love and praise" life-sustaining essential - basic and fundamental; "the essential feature"
	3.	vital - full of spirit; "a dynamic full of life woman"; "a vital and charismatic leader"; "this whole lively world" full of life, lively animated, alive - having life or vigor or spirit; "an animated and expressive face"; "animated conversation"; "became very animated when he heard the good news"
	4.	vital - manifesting or characteristic of life; "a vital, living organism"; "vital signs" alive, live - possessing life; "the happiest person alive"; "the nerve is alive"; "doctors are working hard to keep him alive"; "burned alive"; "a live canary"

vital

adjective

1. essential, important, necessary, key, basic, significant, critical, radical, crucial, fundamental, urgent, decisive, cardinal, imperative, indispensable, requisite, life-or-death a blockade which could cut off vital oil and gas supplies
essential unnecessary, trivial, unimportant, minor, dispensable, nonessential, inessential

2. lively, vigorous, energetic, spirited, dynamic, animated, vibrant, forceful, sparky, vivacious, full of beans (informal), zestful, full of the joy of living It is tragic to see how the disease has diminished a once vital person.
lively lethargic, apathetic, listless

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

vital

adjective

1. Marked by or exhibiting life:

alive, animate, animated, live, living.

2. Full of vigor:

able-bodied, iron, lusty, red-blooded, robust, strapping, sturdy, vigorous.

3. Constituting or forming part of the essence of something:

basic, constitutional, constitutive, essential, fundamental, integral.

4. Causing or tending to cause death:

deadly, deathly, fatal, lethal, mortal.

Translations

حَيَوي، ضَروري، أساسيحَيَوي، نَشيطحَيَوِيّ

nezbytnýrozhodujícívitální

vitalaktivlivlig

entscheidend grundlegend lebendig lebenswichtig vital

ζωτικός

vital vivo

elintärkeä

vital vivant essentiel vif

ključan

létfontosságú

líflegurnauîsynlegur

vitale importante pieno di vita

きわめて重大な

필수적인

gyvybingasgyvybingumas

ārkārtīgi svarīgsbūtisksdzīvīgsenerģisksvitāls

vitálny

bistvennujen

livsviktig

สำคัญมาก

canlı çok önemlihayat doluhayati

sống còn

充满活力的极其关键的极重要的生死攸关的

vital

[ˈvaɪtl]

A. ADJ

1. (= crucial) [part, component, element] → vital, indispensable; [ingredient] → esencial, indispensable, imprescindible; [factor] → decisivo; [link, role] → fundamental; [question] → vital; [information] → vital, esencial
it is vital to keep accurate records → es imprescindible or esencial llevar un registro detallado
is it really vital for her to have a new dress? → ¿es realmente imprescindible que se compre un vestido nuevo?
it is vital that this be kept secret → es esencial que se mantenga en secreto
to be of vital importance (to sth/sb) → ser de suma or vital importancia (para algo/algn)
at the vital moment → en el momento crítico or clave
these meetings are vital to a successful outcome → estas reuniones son esenciales para un resultado positivo

2. (= dynamic) [person, organization] → vital, lleno de vitalidad
vital spark → chispa f vital

3. (Physiol) [organ, function] → vital

B. N vitals (Anat) (usu hum) (= internal organs) → órganos mpl vitales; (= male genitals) → órganos mpl sexuales, partes fpl (hum)

C. CPD vital signs NPL (Med) → signos mpl vitales
vital statistics NPL (Sociol) → estadísticas fpl demográficas [of woman's body] → medidas fpl

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

vital

[ˈvaɪt^əl] adj

(= crucial) → vital(e)
to be of vital importance that ... → être d'une importance vitale que + subj ...
to be of vital importance to sb → être d'une importance vitale pour qn
it is vital to do sth → il est vital de faire qch
it is vital that ... → il est vital que + subj ...

(= lively) → plein(e) de vitalité

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

vital

adj

(= of life) → vital, Lebens-; (= necessary for life) → lebenswichtig; vital organs → lebenswichtige Organe pl; vital spark (fig) → zündender Funke

(= essential) → unerlässlich; of vital importance → von größter Wichtigkeit; this is vital → das ist unbedingt notwendig; your support is vital to us → wir brauchen unbedingt Ihre Unterstützung; is it vital for you to go?, is it vital that you go? → müssen Sie denn unbedingt gehen?; it’s vital that this is finished by Tuesday → das muss bis Dienstag unbedingt fertig sein; how vital is this? → wie wichtig ist das?; such skills are vital for survival → derartige Fähigkeiten sind überlebenswichtig

(= critical) argument, issue → entscheidend; error → schwerwiegend, schwer wiegend; at the vital moment → im kritischen or entscheidenden Moment; the vital problem → das Kernproblem

(= lively) person → vital; artistic style → lebendig

n the vitals → die lebenswichtigen Organe; (hum: = genitals) → die edlen Teile (hum)

vital

vital parts

pl → wichtige Teile pl

vital signs

pl (Med) → Lebenszeichen pl

vital statistics

pl → Bevölkerungsstatistik f; (inf, of woman) → Maße pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

vital

[ˈvaɪtl] adj

a. (gen) → vitale; (error) → fatale
of vital importance (to sb/sth) → di vitale importanza (per qn/qc)
it is vital that → è essenziale che

b. (lively) → pieno/a di vitalità

vital

(ˈvaitl) adjective

1. essential; of the greatest importance. Speed is vital to the success of our plan; It is vital that we arrive at the hospital soon.

2. lively and energetic. a vital person/personality.

ˌviˈtality (-ˈtӕ-) noun

liveliness and energy. a girl of tremendous vitality.

vital

→ حَيَوِيّ nezbytný vital entscheidend ζωτικός vital elintärkeä vital ključan vitale きわめて重大な 필수적인 essentieel vital życiowy vital жизненный livsviktig สำคัญมาก hayati sống còn 生死攸关的

vi·tal

a. vital, rel. a la vida o esencial en el mantenimiento de la misma;

___ capacity → capacidad ___;

___ signs → signos ___ -es;

___ statistics → estadística demográfica.

vital

adj vital

References in classic literature ?

There is need for some care if the distinction between mechanical and vital movements is to be made precise.

View in context

"And pray what is a vital lie but a lie?" the White Logic challenges.

View in context

Their psychology is bovine, their outlook crude and rare; They abandon vital matters to be tickled with a straw; But the straw that they were tickled with--the chaff that they were fed with-- They convert into a weaver's beam to break their foeman's head with.

View in context

But if the destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is LESS perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.

View in context

Some people are born with a vital and responsive energy.

View in context

You shall read, in some of the friars' books of mortification, that a man should think with himself, what the pain is, if he have but his finger's end pressed, or tortured, and thereby imagine, what the pains of death are, when the whole body is corrupted, and dissolved; when many times death passeth, with less pain than the torture of a limb; for the most vital parts, are not the quickest of sense.

View in context

I learned how to choose between words after a study of their fitness, and though I often employed them decoratively and with no vital sense of their qualities, still in mere decoration they had to be chosen intelligently, and after some thought about their structure and meaning.

View in context

I made all the necessary jokes about the strength of the vital principle in Lady Malkinshaw, and the broken condition of my own constitution; but he solemnly abstained from understanding one of them.

View in context

Broad awake and keenly alive to the significance of the situation, Druse now brought the butt of his rifle against his cheek by cautiously pushing the barrel forward through the bushes, cocked the piece, and, glancing through the sights, covered a vital spot of the horseman's breast.

View in context

But Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope.

View in context

Here is a vital point; for you must either satisfactorily settle this matter with yourself, or for ever remain an infidel as to one of the most appalling, but not the less true events, perhaps anywhere to be found in all recorded history.

View in context

"DEAR MADAM -- I have unexpectedly received some information which is of the most vital importance to your interests.