- vigor
- vigor, vim, spirit, dash, esprit, verve, punch, élan, drive can all denote a quality of force, forcefulness, or energy.Vigor implies a strength that proceeds from a fundamental soundness or robustiousness or a display of energy or forcefulness deriving from this or befitting it{
the physical and intellectual vigor and toughness which the trial lawyer needs— Robert Hale
}{the tendency ... to mistake gush for vigor and substitute rhetoric for imagination—Day Lewis
}Vim stresses the display of usually enthusiastic energy put into the work of doing or making something{fights with vim
}{the workmen . . . are always busy; there is a hearty vim to their work that proves interest— Century
}Spirit (see also COURAGE, SOUL, APPARITION) stresses vivacity, animation, and liveliness which usually derive from mood, disposition, or temperament{all in arms ... as full of spirit as the month of May— Shak.
}{the pieces . . . were written in deadest winter of the dead years . . . and few of the contributions had spirit— Mailer
}{sing it with a spirit that will start the world along— Work
}Dash may imply the presence of any of these qualities, vigor, vim, and spirit, often in the form of a bold devil-may-care force; it tends to stress the impact of the thing upon the mind of the observer or reader or listener{drawn with Dureresque vigor and dash— Hardy
}{the two sisters were not beautiful. . . but they had the dash ... that a later generation came to call sex appeal— Shaplen
}Esprit is not quite equivalent to spirit; like spirit it implies a quality which has its basis in nature and is manifested in mood or temperament; unlike it, it suggests the force displayed by an exceedingly active and subtle mind and so comes close to meaning cleverness, brains, or wit usually with an added suggestion of vivacity (as in conversation){one man who is a little too literal can spoil the talk of a whole tableful of men of esprit— Holmes
}{the industrial esprit that could spark general economic advance— Riesman
}Verve also comes close to spirit, but it often carries a clearer implication of a characteristic or peculiar force or energy, the exact description of which only the context can supply or suggest{writing with the verve and gusto dear to the mid-nineteenth century— Mary Ross
}{the spirit of their times is in them. There is the same tremendous energy and verve and vitality— Edith Hamilton
}{his manly verve for the enlivening of that gray court— Belloc
}Punch suggests a quality that carries with it the power to gain its aim; it may imply a convincing or commanding quality, but it stresses forcefulness and immediate effectiveness{the searing punch of cloud to ground lightning— Dillon.
}{verbs that have punch— Westley
}Élanapproaches dash in meaning, but it carries a stronger connotation of impetuosity and assurance or of ardor in the display of force and energy{his stories ... are told in a formal style and exhibit the attempt to recapture a certain note of urbanity, wit, and élan—Mailer
}{performed with great élan in a sophisticated style— Dance Observer
}Drive also, like dash and élan, suggests a quality that affects others, but it carries a richer implication than either of the display of power to force through to the ends in view and to carry the observers, especially the readers, along with it{the city had lost. .. the surging drive that supposedly was so characteristically American— Harold Sinclair
}{the dynamic core of a society, its central impulse and drive— Maughan
}{this titan's spirit which gave such drive and strength to the mightiest of his plays— J. M. Brown
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
