# vital

Pronunciation: say "VY-tuhl" /ˈvaɪtəl/

## Adjective

1. Very important; essential to the success of something or to achieving a particular goal.
   - Simple: Extremely important and needed for something to work or succeed.
   - _Strong communication is vital to the success of any large project._
   - _Securing that contract was vital for the company's survival through the downturn._
2. Necessary for something to continue to exist or carry on.
   - Simple: Needed for something to keep going or stay alive.
   - _Access to clean water is vital to the region's continued existence._
   - _These wetlands are vital to the survival of countless migratory birds._
3. Necessary for life to continue; being a part of the body on which life directly depends.
   - Simple: Needed to keep a living thing alive, like the heart or lungs.
   - _A single fragment had pierced one of his vital organs._
   - _The surgeon carefully avoided the patient's vital structures during the operation._
4. Relating to or characteristic of life and the processes of living things.
   - Simple: Having to do with life or living things.
   - _The philosopher wrote about a vital force animating all living things._
   - _Researchers tracked the vital activity of the bacteria over several days._
5. Lively and energetic; brimming with life and spirit.
   - Simple: Full of energy and life.
   - _His paintings are bold and vital, full of movement and color._
   - _Even in her nineties she remained a vital, engaging presence._
6. Invigorating; giving or restoring life and energy.
   - Simple: Giving energy or life and making you feel fresh and strong.
   - _The spring rains brought vital moisture to the parched fields._
   - _Sunlight is a vital, life-giving force for the whole forest._
7. Relating to the official recording of life events such as births, marriages, and deaths.
   - Simple: Having to do with official records of births, marriages, and deaths.
   - _The county clerk maintains vital records dating back to 1850._
   - _Demographers rely on vital statistics to track birth and death rates._
8. Capable of living; in a condition able to sustain life; viable.
   - Simple: Able to live or stay alive.
   - _Tests showed the embryo was vital and developing normally._
   - _Farmers separate the vital seeds from those that will never germinate._
9. Containing life within it; living rather than inert.
   - Simple: Having life inside and alive rather than dead.
   - _The microscope revealed vital organisms swimming in the pond water._
   - _They debated whether the sample was vital or merely inert chemistry._

## Origin

It came through Middle English and Old French from Latin vītālis ("of life, life-giving"), from vīta ("life"), which in turn comes from vīvō ("I live").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vital (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).