noun
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the fact, quality, or condition of being vigilant
-
the abnormal state or condition of being unable to sleep
Usage
What does vigilance mean? Vigilance is the state of being watchful or alert for danger or some other kind of trouble.Vigilance is the noun form of the adjective vigilant, meaning watchful or alert.Vigilance is often used when talking about keeping something out or in—whether that means keeping mistakes out of your work, robbers out of your home, or the dog inside the house.In a medical context, vigilance is sometimes used as a synonym for insomnia—the state of being unable to sleep.Example: We must be vigilant if we want to protect our home from invaders.
Other Word Forms
- hypervigilance noun
- nonvigilance noun
- previgilance noun
- supervigilance noun
Etymology
Origin of vigilance
First recorded in 1560–70; alteration ( -ance for -ancy ) of obsolete vigilancy, from Latin vigilantia; vigilant, -ancy
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.
“This is likely to take the form of verbal vigilance rather than an explicit signal of an imminent rate move,” he said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Department officials would not comment on the memo, but in a statement said the department was continuing to operate at an “elevated level of readiness and is maintaining increased vigilance.”
From Los Angeles Times
Signal has stressed while they have protections in place, "user vigilance" is the best way to combat phishing attempts.
From BBC
“Thanks to the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, his scheme ended in failure.”
With no clear path out of crisis, the emotional landscape inside Iran is shaped by exhaustion, social polarisation and hyper‑vigilance.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
