[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

force \force\, n. f. force, ll. forcia, fortia, fr. l. fortis
   strong. see fort, n.
   1. capacity of exercising an influence or producing an
      effect; strength or energy of body or mind; active power;
      vigor; might; often, an unusual degree of strength or
      energy; especially, power to persuade, or convince, or
      impose obligation; pertinency; validity; special
      signification; as, the force of an appeal, an argument, a
      contract, or a term.
      1913 webster

            he was, in the full force of the words, a good man.
                                                  --macaulay.
      1913 webster

   2. power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power;
      violence; coercion; as, by force of arms; to take by
      force.
      1913 webster

            which now they hold by force, and not by right.
                                                  --shak.
      1913 webster

   3. strength or power for war; hence, a body of land or naval
      combatants, with their appurtenances, ready for action; --
      an armament; troops; warlike array; -- often in the
      plural; hence, a body of men prepared for action in other
      ways; as, the laboring force of a plantation; the armed
      forces.
      1913 webster

            is lucius general of the forces?      --shak.
      1913 webster

   4. law
      a strength or power exercised without law, or contrary
          to law, upon persons or things; violence.
      b validity; efficacy. --burrill.
          1913 webster

   5. physics any action between two bodies which changes, or
      tends to change, their relative condition as to rest or
      motion; or, more generally, which changes, or tends to
      change, any physical relation between them, whether
      mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of
      any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force;
      centrifugal force.
      1913 webster

   animal force physiol., muscular force or energy.

   catabiotic force gr. ? down intens. + ? life. biol.,
      the influence exerted by living structures on adjoining
      cells, by which the latter are developed in harmony with
      the primary structures.

   centrifugal force, centripetal force, coercive force,
      etc. see under centrifugal, centripetal, etc.

   composition of forces, correlation of forces, etc. see
      under composition, correlation, etc.

   force and arms trans. of l. vi et armis law, an
      expression in old indictments, signifying violence.

   in force, or of force, of unimpaired efficacy; valid; of
      full virtue; not suspended or reversed. "a testament is of
      force after men are dead." --heb. ix. 17.

   metabolic force physiol., the influence which causes and
      controls the metabolism of the body.

   no force, no matter of urgency or consequence; no account;
      hence, to do no force, to make no account of; not to heed.
      obs. --chaucer.

   of force, of necessity; unavoidably; imperatively. "good
      reasons must, of force, give place to better." --shak.

   plastic force physiol., the force which presumably acts
      in the growth and repair of the tissues.

   vital force physiol., that force or power which is
      inherent in organization; that form of energy which is the
      cause of the vital phenomena of the body, as distinguished
      from the physical forces generally known.

   syn: strength; vigor; might; energy; stress; vehemence;
        violence; compulsion; coaction; constraint; coercion.

   usage: force, strength. strength looks rather to power as
          an inward capability or energy. thus we speak of the
          strength of timber, bodily strength, mental strength,
          strength of emotion, etc. force, on the other hand,
          looks more to the outward; as, the force of
          gravitation, force of circumstances, force of habit,
          etc. we do, indeed, speak of strength of will and
          force of will; but even here the former may lean
          toward the internal tenacity of purpose, and the
          latter toward the outward expression of it in action.
          but, though the two words do in a few cases touch thus
          closely on each other, there is, on the whole, a
          marked distinction in our use of force and strength.
          "force is the name given, in mechanical science, to
          whatever produces, or can produce, motion." --nichol.
          1913 webster

                thy tears are of no force to mollify
                this flinty man.                  --heywood.
          1913 webster

                more huge in strength than wise in works he was.
                                                  --spenser.
          1913 webster

                adam and first matron eve
                had ended now their orisons, and found
                strength added from above, new hope to spring
                out of despair.                   --milton.
          1913 webster
see also:
fort animal force catabiotic force centrifugal force centripetal force coercive force 
centrifugal centripetal composition of forces correlation of forces composition 
correlation force and arms in force of force metabolic force 
no force plastic force vital force force strength 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

vital \vi"tal\, a. f., fr. l. vitalis, fr. vita life; akin to
   vivere to live. see vivid.
   1. belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable;
      as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.
      1913 webster

   2. contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life;
      as, vital blood.
      1913 webster

            do the heavens afford him vital food? --spenser.
      1913 webster

            and vital virtue infused, and vital warmth.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

   3. containing life; living. "spirits that live throughout,
      vital in every part." --milton.
      1913 webster

   4. being the seat of life; being that on which life depends;
      mortal.
      1913 webster

            the dart flew on, and pierced a vital part. --pope.
      1913 webster

   5. very necessary; highly important; essential.
      1913 webster

            a competence is vital to content.     --young.
      1913 webster

   6. capable of living; in a state to live; viable. r.
      1913 webster

            pythagoras and hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of
            the seventh month to be vital.        --sir t.
                                                  browne.
      1913 webster

   vital air, oxygen gas; -- so called because essential to
      animal life. obs.

   vital capacity physiol., the breathing capacity of the
      lungs; -- expressed by the number of cubic inches of air
      which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration.

   vital force. biol. see under force. the vital forces,
      according to cope, are nerve force neurism, growth force
      bathmism, and thought force phrenism, all under the
      direction and control of the vital principle. apart from
      the phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer
      need to be considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable
      character, nor vital force as anything other than a form
      of physical energy derived from, and convertible into,
      other well-known forces of nature.

   vital functions physiol., those functions or actions of
      the body on which life is directly dependent, as the
      circulation of the blood, digestion, etc.

   vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the
      functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed.

   vital statistics, statistics respecting the duration of
      life, and the circumstances affecting its duration.

   vital tripod. physiol. see under tripod.

   vital vessels bot., a name for latex tubes, now disused.
      see latex.
      1913 webster
see also:
vivid vital air vital capacity vital force force vital functions 
vital principle vital statistics vital tripod tripod vital vessels 
latex 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

vital force
     n : biology a hypothetical force not physical or chemical
         once thought by henri bergson to cause the evolution and
         development of organisms syn: life force, vitality,
         elan vital
see also:
life force vitality elan vital 

Force >> F Words
Force, definition of term: Force
force_pag1.html

Force Majeure >> F Words
Force Majeure, definition of term: Force Majeure
force+majeure_pag1.html

Force Field >> F Words
Force Field, definition of term: Force Field
force+field_pag1.html

Labor Force >> L Words
Labor Force, definition of term: Labor Force
labor+force_pag1.html

In Force >> I Words
In Force, definition of term: In Force
in+force_pag1.html

Coriolis Force >> C Words
Coriolis Force, definition of term: Coriolis Force
coriolis+force_pag1.html

Driving Force >> D Words
Driving Force, definition of term: Driving Force
driving+force_pag1.html

Brute Force >> B Words
Brute Force, definition of term: Brute Force
brute+force_pag1.html

Line Of Force >> L Words
Line Of Force, definition of term: Line Of Force
line+of+force_pag1.html