Standard Lemma guide

vitalism

noun · 2 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The doctrine that life involves some immaterial "vital force", and cannot be explained scientifically.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

(philosophy) a doctrine that life is a vital principle distinct from physics and chemistry

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: philosophical doctrine, philosophical theory

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English vital Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English vitalism From vital + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Czech: vitalismus — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Danish: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Dutch: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Esperanto: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Finnish: vitalismi — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • French: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Galician: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • German: Vitalismus — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Greek: βιταλισμός (vitalismós) — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Ido: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Italian: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Norwegian Bokmål: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: vitalisme — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Polish: witalizm — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Portuguese: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Russian: витали́зм (vitalízm) — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Spanish: vitalismo — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Swedish: vitalism — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Ukrainian: віталі́зм (vitalízm) — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"
  • Volapük: lifälim — doctrine that life involves a "vital force"