What does vitally mean?
Vitally is an adverb meaning in a way that is essential to life, survival, success, or effective functioning. It is commonly used to stress the fundamental importance of a person, thing, or action, as in “vitally important” or “vitally necessary.” The word often carries a formal and emphatic tone, suggesting that the matter cannot safely be treated as secondary, optional, or superficial. Its force is especially clear in contexts involving safety, health, institutions, or major decisions. Although “vitally” can modify verbs such as “affect,” it is also frequently paired with adjectives, producing expressions that sound deliberate and authoritative. The word derives from “vital,” which in turn comes from Latin, and it remains a useful alternative to simply saying “very important” when the intended sense is that something is truly indispensable rather than merely significant.
adverbIn a way that is essential to life, survival, success, or effective functioning. It emphasizes the fundamental importance or indispensability of something.
- In a manner essential to life, survival, success, or effective functioning.
"The proposed changes could prove vitally important to the future of the organization."
"Clean water is vitally important to communities facing severe drought."
"The early warning system played a vitally important role in protecting the coastline."
What is “vitally important” is not merely important: it is something the whole operation cannot do without.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does vitally come from?
Vitally was formed in English by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to vital. The adjective vital comes from Latin vitalis, meaning “of or relating to life,” from vita, “life.” English borrowed the Latin-derived family of words, including vitality and vitamin, into its vocabulary over time.
How vitally is actually used
Formality and emphasis are both common. Vitally is often used with words such as “important,” “necessary,” and “different” to stress that something is fundamental rather than merely useful.
Easily confused with vitally
Vitality is a noun meaning the energy or life force that enables something to thrive, whereas vitally is an adverb describing something done in an essential or crucial manner.