élan vital
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No psionic fields, no morphic resonances, no élan vital, no dualism.
From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2020
Later, Henri Bergson’s idea of élan vital — described by the French philosopher as “the explosive internal force that life carries within itself” — fueled her work.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2019
He seems propelled by an unseen power source — something along the quixotic lines of Henri Bergson’s mysterious, unknowable élan vital.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2016
Somewhere in all this, it was thought, there also resided a mysterious élan vital, the force that brought inanimate objects to life.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
As the élan vital that has made and characterized any period declines, it throws off reactions, the object of which is if possible to arrest, or at least delay, the fatal glissade.
From Towards the Great Peace by Cram, Ralph Adams
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
