vital

Extremely important and needed for something to succeed or happen.

• Your help is vital.
• She played a vital role in the project.
• It is vital to save a copy of your work.

How to use it: vital to/for something (Good communication is vital to success.); it is vital to do something (It is vital to check the address.); it is vital that… (It is vital that everyone arrives on time.)

Similar words: essential, crucial, critical, indispensable

Opposites: unimportant, nonessential

Common phrases: vital role, vital information, vital to success

Necessary for a person, animal, or plant to stay alive.

• Water is vital for plants.
• The body needs these vital nutrients.
• Oxygen is vital to the survival of many animals.

How to use it: vital to something (Oxygen is vital to human life.); vital for something (Clean water is vital for survival.)

Similar words: essential, necessary, indispensable

Opposites: nonessential

Common phrases: vital to life, vital for survival, vital nutrients, vital organ

Connected with life and the way a living body works.

• The nurse checked his vital signs.
• The medicine affects several vital functions.
• Breathing and digestion are vital processes.

Similar words: lifely

Common phrases: vital signs, vital functions, vital processes