vegetative
adj.adj. relating to plants or the parts of a plant that grow and support life, like leaves and stems. In medicine, it describes the basic functions of the body that keep you alive, like breathing and heart rate.
adj. relating to or characteristic of plants, or to the basic physiological functions of the body that maintain life. Often used in medical contexts to describe the autonomic nervous system's control over involuntary processes.
The plant's vegetative growth is very fast this season.
The patient remains in a vegetative state, showing no signs of conscious awareness or voluntary movement.
While the tree's reproductive cycle is seasonal, its vegetative growth continues throughout the year, allowing it to maintain a dense canopy even during the winter months.
From Middle French végétatif, from Medieval Latin vegetativus, from past participle stem of vegetare.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 19, 2026