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Vital vs Salient - What's the difference?

vital | salient |

As adjectives the difference between vital and salient

is that vital is relating to, or characteristic of life while salient is worthy of note; pertinent or relevant.

As a noun salient is

(military) an outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense.

vital

English

(wikipedia vital)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Relating to, or characteristic of life.
    • vital''' energies; '''vital''' functions; '''vital actions
  • Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends.
    • The brain is a vital organ.
  • * Spenser
    • Do the heavens afford him vital food?
  • Invigorating or life-giving.
  • Necessary to continued existence.
    • The transition to farming was vital for the creation of civilisation.
  • Relating to the recording of life events.
    • Birth, marriage and death certificates are vital records.
  • Very important.
    • It is vital that you don't forget to do your homework.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-12-14
    • , author=Simon Jenkins, authorlink=Simon Jenkins , title=We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys , volume=188, issue=2, page=23 , date=2012-12-21 , magazine= citation , passage=David Cameron insists that his latest communications data bill is “vital to counter terrorism”. Yet terror is mayhem. It is no threat to freedom. That threat is from counter-terror, from ministers capitulating to securocrats.}}
  • Containing life; living.
  • * Milton
    • spirits that live throughout, vital in every part
  • * Alexander Pope
    • The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part.
  • Capable of living; in a state to live; viable.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • Pythagoras and Hippocrates affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital .

    Derived terms

    * vital force * vital organ * vital signs * vital statistics

    Related terms

    * devive * revive * survive * viable * vitality * vivid

    External links

    * * ----

    salient

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Worthy of note; pertinent or relevant.
    • The article is not exhaustive, but it covers the salient points pretty well.
  • Prominent; conspicuous.
  • * Bancroft
    • He [Grenville] had neither salient traits, nor general comprehensiveness of mind.
  • (heraldry, usually of a quadruped) Depicted in a leaping posture.
    • a lion salient
  • Projecting outwards, pointing outwards.
    • a salient angle
  • (obsolete) Moving by leaps or springs; jumping.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • frogs and salient animals
  • (obsolete) Shooting out up; springing; projecting.
  • * Burke
    • He had in himself a salient , living spring of generous and manly action.

    Quotations

    {{timeline, 1800s=1878 1898, 1900s=1936}} * 1878 , , Book 2, chapter 5: *: With nearer approach these fragmentary sounds became pieced together, and were found to be the salient points of the tune called "Nancy's Fancy." * 1898 , Book2, chapter 2: *: The last salient point in which the systems of these creatures differed from ours was in what one might have thought a very trivial particular. * 1936 , : *: Warning me that many of the street signs were down, the youth drew for my benefit a rough but ample and painstaking sketch map of the town's salient features.

    Antonyms

    * (prominent) obscure, trivial

    Derived terms

    * salient point

    Related terms

    * salience * saliency

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (military) an outwardly projecting part of a fortification, trench system, or line of defense

    • Derived terms

    * salient pole

    Anagrams

    * ----