inanimate vs vital

inanimate

adj
  • Not being, and never having been alive, especially not like humans and animals. 

  • Lacking the quality or ability of motion; as an inanimate object. 

  • Not animate. 

noun
  • Something that is not alive. 

vital

adj
  • Containing life; living. 

  • Invigorating or life-giving. 

  • Very important. 

  • Necessary to continued existence. 

  • Necessary to the continuation of life; being the seat of life; being that on which life depends. 

  • Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. 

  • Relating to the recording of life events. 

  • Relating to, or characteristic of life. 

How often have the words inanimate and vital occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )