vital

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled wital

US /ˈvaɪtəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #4462

Meanings

1

adj
Extremely important; essential.

It is vital that you don't forget your passport.
2

adj
Necessary for life to continue.

The brain is a vital organ.
3

adj
Full of energy and life.

She remained vital and active well into old age.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · extremely important;... central critical crucial essential

2 adj · necessary for life to... life-sustaining

3 adj · full of energy and life. lively animated

Opposites

mortal

Word family

Related forms deviverevive survive viable vitality vitals vivid

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

vital statistics
official population figures covering events such as births, deaths, and marriages

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Vital comes from Latin vita, “life.” Its medieval senses concerned the force or energy present in living things; the later meaning “essential to life” broadened to mean indispensable more generally. The same Latin source also underlies vitamin.

Etymology

From Middle English vital, from Old French vital, from Latin vītālis (“of life, life-giving”), from vīta (“life”), from vīvō (“to live”). Doublet of jiva and quick.

*gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European vital Middle English vītālis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# vital

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvaɪtəl/
**Frequency rank:** 4462

## Meanings
1. Extremely important; essential.
2. Necessary for life to continue.
3. Full of energy and life.

## Examples
- It is vital that you don't forget your passport.
- The brain is a vital organ.
- She remained vital and active well into old age.

## Antonyms
- mortal

## Related Forms
- devive
- revive
- survive
- viable
- vitality
- vitals
- vivid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷeyh₃-
- Root: vital
- Root: vītālis

## Etymology
From Middle English vital, from Old French vital, from Latin vītālis (“of life, life-giving”), from vīta (“life”), from vīvō (“to live”). Doublet of jiva and quick.

## AI Etymology
Vital is from Middle English vital, from Old French vital, from Latin vītālis (“of life, life-giving”), from vīta (“life”), from vīvō (“to live”). Doublet of jiva and quick. Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-, Middle English vital, Old French vital, and Latin vītālis. In present-day use, it can mean extremely important; essential, or necessary for life to continue. Related words include devive, revive, survive, viable, vitality.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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