A hypothetical force to which the functions and qualities peculiar to living things are sometimes ascribed.

synonym: life principle.

Roget 1: existence, being, entity, ens [Lat.], esse [Lat.], subsistence.    reality, actuality; positiveness etc. adj.; fact, matter of fact, sober reality; truth etc. 494; actual existence.    presence etc. (existence in space) 186; coexistence etc. 120.    stubborn fact, hard fact; not a dream etc. 515; no joke.    center of life, essence, inmost nature, inner reality, vital principle.    [Science of existence], ontology.    ... show more