vital

[Vi·tal]

A patient's vital signs are their important body functions, such as pulse rate, that shows they are still alive. Use the adjective vital to describe something that is important and necessary, or a person full of energy.

...

Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.

Adjective S.
manifesting or characteristic of life; "a vital, living organism"; "vital signs"

Adjective S.
full of spirit; "a dynamic full of life woman"; "a vital and charismatic leader"; "this whole lively world"

Adjective S.
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"

Adjective S.
urgently needed; absolutely necessary; "a critical element of the plan"; "critical medical supplies"; "vital for a healthy society"; "of vital interest"


a.
Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.

a.
Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood.

a.
Containing life; living.

a.
Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal.

a.
Very necessary; highly important; essential.

a.
Capable of living; in a state to live; viable.

n.
A vital part; one of the vitals.


Vital

Vi"tal , a. [F., fr. L. vitalis, fr. vita life; akin to vivere to live. See Vivid.] 1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions. 2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood.
Do the heavens afford him vital food?
And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth.
3. Containing life; living. "Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part." Milton. 4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal.
The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part.
5. Very necessary; highly important; essential.
A competence is vital to content.
6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. [R.]
Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital.
Vital air, oxygen gas; -- so called because essential to animal life. [Obs.] -- Vital capacity (Physiol.), the breathing capacity of the lungs; -- expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. -- Vital force. (Biol.) See under Force. The vital forces, according to Cope, are nerve force (neurism), growth force (bathmism), and thought force (phrenism), all under the direction and control of the vital principle. Apart from the phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer need to be considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable character, nor vital force as anything other than a form of physical energy derived from, and convertible into, other well-known forces of nature. -- Vital functions (Physiol.), those functions or actions of the body on which life is directly dependent, as the circulation of the blood, digestion, etc. -- Vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed. -- Vital statistics, statistics respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its duration. -- Vital tripod. (Physiol.) See under Tripod. -- Vital vessels (Bot.), a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex.

Vital

Vi"tal, n. A vital part; one of the vitals. [R.]

Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.

A vital part; one of the vitals.

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Usage Examples

Driving with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake is likely to get you nowhere, but certainly will burn out vital parts of your car. Similarly, cutting taxes on the middle class, but increasing them on the 'rich' is likely to result in an economic burnout.

Change is vital to any actor. If you keep playing lead after lead, you're really gonna dry up. Because all those vehicles wean you away from the truths of human behaviour.

But communication is two-sided - vital and profound communication makes demands also on those who are to receive it... demands in the sense of concentration, of genuine effort to receive what is being communicated.

Failure and its accompanying misery is for the artist his most vital source of creative energy.

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

Boredom is... a vital problem for the moralist, since half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.

AARP knows the future is bright for a generation that's going to remain healthy and vital for 10, 20, 30, 40 more years. AARP has the information and resources people need throughout their process of reinvention.

For good or for ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power and fleets and armies, however vital and important, must accept a subordinate rank.

America's health care system provides some of the finest doctors and more access to vital medications than any country in the world. And yet, our system has been faltering for many years with the increased cost of health care.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

Decades ago, women suffered through horrifying back-alley abortions. Or, they used dangerous methods when they had no other recourse. So when the Republican Party launched an all-out assault on women's health, pushing bills to limit access to vital services, we had to ask: Why is the GOP trying to send women back... to the back alley?

A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.

Getting along with men isn't what's truly important. The vital knowledge is how to get along with a man, one man.

A knowledge of the forces that rule society, of the causes that have produced its upheavals, and of society's resources for promoting healthy progress has become of vital concern to our civilization.

At a time when we are facing threats from nations such as North Korea and Iran, and attempting to convince others such as India and Pakistan to become responsible nuclear powers, it is vital that America reclaims the leadership we once had on arms control.

But one way or another, judges perform a very vital function in our society. They have a risky job and they are entitled to security.

Business, labor and civil society organizations have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community.

A vital step for the technology sector is to signpost legitimate search options far more clearly and to delete links to sites that promote illegally sourced content.

All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.

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