Entry Word: vital

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 having active strength of body or mind <a man who remained vital well into his 90s> — see vigorous 1
2 having much high-spirited energy and movement <the child is vital and active again after being sick> — see lively 1
3 impossible to do without <I forgot one vital ingredient, and now the biscuits taste very strange> — see essential 1
4 likely to cause or capable of causing death <received a vital wound in the abdomen> — see deadly
5 of the greatest possible importance <a matter that is vital to our national security> — see crucial