ˈvigə(r) noun
( -s )
Usage: see -or in
Etymology: Middle English vigour, from Middle French vigeur, from Latin vigor, from vigēre to be vigorous, flourish + -or — more at vigil
1. : active strength or force of body or mind : capacity for physical, intellectual, or moral exertion : effective energy or power
the vigor of youth
the vigor of a storm
2. : strength or force in animal or vegetable nature or action
a plant grows with vigor
3. : intensity of action or effect : force , energy
the vigor of an argument
commanding a troop with vigor
a drug that acts with vigor
4. : effective legal status : validity
laws that are still in vigor
Synonyms:
vigor , vim , spirit , dash , esprit , verve , punch , é LAN , and drive denote, in common, a quality of force, forcefulness, or energy. vigor implies active good health and native robustness or a display of energy or forcefulness deriving from it or befitting it
the physical and intellectual vigor and toughness which the trial lawyer needs — Robert Hale
the vigor and inventiveness that American business has shown in many other fields — Defense Against Recession
burst into leaf with exceptional vigor — American Guide Series: Maryland
a wonderfully witty book, with an intellectual vigor — Paul Pickrel
vim stresses the display of usually enthusiastic energy in doing or making something
enter into an enterprise with a good deal of vim
the vim and energy with which he spoke was exhausting to the audience
spirit stresses a driving vivacity, liveliness, or animated interest usually deriving from disposition or temperament
enter into a campaign with spirit
on the eve of a match the players worked up spirit by celebrations — American Guide Series: Florida
dash implies a bold, devil-may-care force, often tending to stress the impact upon the observer, reader, or listener
the picture really captures the obsessive dash of professional airmen — Time
their lineaments and general contours to be drawn with Düreresque vigor and dash — Thomas Hardy
his study … aspiring to make up in liveliness, dash, and clarity what it is bound to lack in analytical rigor — Clifton Fadiman
lack of oratorical dash — N.F.Busch
esprit is a quality of interest or energy of mind or disposition more subtly manifest than spirit and often strongly implying active cleverness or wit
there are men of esprit who are excessively exhausting to some people — O.W.Holmes †1894
acquire the industrial esprit that could spark general economic advance — David Riesman
verve suggests strongly a characteristic or peculiar active energy or interest
writing with the verve and gusto dear to the mid-nineteenth century — Mary Ross
both sing with shattering verve — Herbert Weinstock
the dancers performed with verve — Douglas Watt
tells his story … with unquenchable verve and enthusiasm — Times Literary Supplement
recited King Henry V's speech before the battle of Agincourt with such verve that she brought the house down — Bruce Marshall
punch stresses forcefulness of impact or immediate effectiveness
a speech with very little punch
the poem which I have chosen seems to me … to be crisp in its language and also to carry a considerable punch — Louis MacNeice
coconut sap is poured to make toddy — which looks like milk but has a punch — New York Times Magazine
é LAN stresses a spirit or quality marked by ardor or spiritedness in action
marching in perfect formation and with military élan — Philip Hamburger
clears his hurdles with agility and élan — Times Literary Supplement
a real victory would give them a great élan for the sterner tests yet to come — D.D.Eisenhower
drive stresses an unremitting purposive action or forcefulness resulting from a large reservoir of energy
lack the drive, the initiative, and the sense of aggression necessary to carry out a planned crime of violence — D.W.Maurer & V.H.Vogel
this titan's spirit which gave such drive and strength to the mightiest of his plays — John Mason Brown
enough drive to achieve success in almost any field