Vigilance

//ˈvɪd͡ʒɪlɪns// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alert watchfulness. uncountable, usually

    "To-night she took her accustomed place; for, during the night, no vigilance could satisfy her but her own: any eye but hers might close in momentary forgetfulness."

  2. 2
    vigilant attentiveness wordnet
  3. 3
    Close and continuous attention. uncountable, usually

    "But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing."

  4. 4
    the process of paying close and continuous attention wordnet
  5. 5
    A guard; a person set to watch. obsolete, uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms
watchfulnesscarealertnessalertnessattentivenesscaution

Example

More examples

"Success in life lies in diligence and vigilance."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French vigilance, from Latin vigilantia.

Related phrases

in vigilancevigilance committeevigilance manbeing awaregovernment terrorismkeeping watch

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.