Standard Lemma guide

vim

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /vɪm/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪm
  • CMU ARPABET: V IH1 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Ready vitality and vigour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: energy, go, pep, pizzazz, verve, zest

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an imaginative lively style (especially style of writing)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his writing conveys great energy
  • a remarkable muscularity of style

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: energy, muscularity, vigor, vigour

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liveliness, life, spirit, sprightliness

Narrower terms: vitality, verve

3

noun

Meaning 3

a healthy capacity for vigorous activity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • jogging works off my excess energy
  • he seemed full of vim and vigor

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: energy, vitality

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: good health, healthiness

Narrower terms: juice, qi, chi, ch'i, ki

History

Etymology

Possibly from Latin vim, accusative singular of vīs (“force, power, strength; (New Latin) energy, force”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyh1- (“to chase, pursue”); compare English vis); but perhaps a modern expressive formation.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: енергия (energija) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Bulgarian: жизненост (žiznenost) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Chinese Mandarin: 精 (jīng) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Dutch: fut — ready vitality and vigour
  • Finnish: puhti — ready vitality and vigour
  • Finnish: virta — ready vitality and vigour
  • Georgian: ძალა (ʒala) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Georgian: ენერგია (energia) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Hungarian: életkedv — ready vitality and vigour
  • Hungarian: életerő — ready vitality and vigour
  • Hungarian: tetterő — ready vitality and vigour
  • Icelandic: kjarkur — ready vitality and vigour
  • Italian: vigore — ready vitality and vigour
  • Italian: vitalità — ready vitality and vigour
  • Italian: energia — ready vitality and vigour
  • Japanese: 精 (sei) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Latin: nāvitās — ready vitality and vigour
  • Polish: krzepkość — ready vitality and vigour
  • Polish: zapał — ready vitality and vigour
  • Polish: energia — ready vitality and vigour
  • Russian: энерги́чность (energíčnostʹ) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Russian: эне́ргия (enérgija) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Russian: мо́щь (móščʹ) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Russian: напо́р (napór) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Russian: си́ла (síla) — ready vitality and vigour
  • Spanish: vigor — ready vitality and vigour
  • Spanish: vitalidad — ready vitality and vigour