vigilance

Meanings

1. Careful, continuous attention to possible danger or problems.
2. The state of being awake and alert, ready to act.

Example sentences

• "Safe driving takes constant vigilance."

  Level B2, Meaning 1

• "The security team's vigilance stopped the attack."

  Level B2, Meaning 1

• "Parents must show extra vigilance near water."

  Level B2, Meaning 1

• "Thanks to her vigilance, the error was caught in time."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• vigilante : A vigilante is a person who takes the law into their own hands. Vigilance is careful watchfulness.
• surveillance : Surveillance is organized watching of people or places, often by officials. Vigilance is a person's own alertness.

Word family and forms

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "vigilance".

• constant vigilance
• maintain vigilance
• require vigilance
• increased vigilance
• vigilance against fraud
• eternal vigilance

Idioms and phrases

eternal vigilance

Constant watchfulness, especially to protect something valuable such as freedom.

"Keeping a network safe takes eternal vigilance."

Origin

Vigilance came into English in the 1500s from Latin vigilantia, which meant wakefulness, by way of French. It was shaped from an older English form, vigilancy, and it is a relative of vigilant.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Vigilance is related to vigil, a night spent awake to watch. Keep your eyes open and keep your vigil.

Test yourself

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