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 .

Adjective

(-)

In effect or essence, if not in fact or reality; imitated, simulated.

In fact a defeat on the battlefield, Tet was a virtual victory for the North, owing to its effect on public opinion.

Virtual addressing allows applications to believe that there is much more physical memory than actually exists.

* Fleming

A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence.

* De Quincey

to mask by slight differences in the manners a virtual identity in the substance

Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or measurable part; potential.

* Francis Bacon

Heat and cold have a virtual transition, without communication of substance.

* Milton

Every kind that lives, / Fomented by his virtual power, and warmed.

Nearly, almost. (A relatively recent corruption of meaning, attributed to misuse in advertising and media. )

The angry peasants were a virtual army as they attacked the castle.

* 2012 , Chelsea 6-0 Wolves [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19632463]

The Chelsea captain was a virtual spectator as he was treated to his side's biggest win for almost two years as Stamford Bridge serenaded him with chants of "there's only one England captain," some 48 hours after he announced his retirement from international football.

Simulated in a computer or online.

The virtual world of his computer game allowed character interaction.

Operating by computer or in cyberspace; not physically present.

a virtual''' assistant; a '''virtual personal trainer

(computing, object-oriented programming, of a class member) Capable of being overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.

(physics) Pertaining to particles in temporary existence due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.