vigil
wakefulness or watchfulness maintained for any reason during the normal hours for sleeping:They passed many hours in vigil.
a watch or a period of watchful attention maintained at night or at other times: The nurse kept her vigil at the bedside of the dying man.
a quiet demonstration to support a cause, protest an injustice, honor the dead, etc.: A candlelight vigil in remembrance of the two fallen officers will be held tonight at sundown.
Ecclesiastical.
Sometimes vigils . a nocturnal devotional exercise or service, especially on the eve before a church festival:The Easter vigil reflects on the holy sacraments as well as the resurrection and ascension of Christ.
the eve, or day and night, before a church festival, especially an eve that is a fast.
a period of wakefulness from inability to sleep.
Origin of vigil
1Words Nearby vigil
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use vigil in a sentence
They gather for protests and vigils—not just to honor the dead but to express outrage and foment change.
How We Keep Riding After the Nevada Cycling Deaths | Eben Weiss | December 22, 2020 | Outside OnlineSomething they can draw warmth fromPeople have been lighting candles during vigils, funerals, and other somber ceremonies since the times of the ancient Egyptians.
There were never any wanted signs outside the police academy or candlelight vigils in suburbia.
Four police officers shot Amadou Diallo 19 times. A new photography project names them. | Geoff Edgers | December 3, 2020 | Washington PostOn Wednesday evening, dozens met up for a vigil and a march starting at Seventh and Kennedy streets NW, where the incident occurred.
Police may have pursued moped before fatal crash, officials say | Peter Hermann, Justin Jouvenal, Clarence Williams | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostFansler once worked as a legal advocate for the local domestic violence shelter, Tundra Women’s Coalition, attended candlelight vigils and, as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, managed a “Teens Acting Against Violence” program.
Alaska’s “Him Too” Moment: When Politicians and Allies Come With Accusations of Their Own | by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News and Greg Kim, KYUK | October 23, 2020 | ProPublica
“If 6,000 people were at the vigil, we hope it will be big,” said university student council President Jalen Ross of the search.
Person of Interest Identified in Disappearance of UVA Student Hannah Graham | Julia Horowitz | September 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe conference had already scheduled a candlelight vigil for those who died of AIDS.
‘There Are People Who Should Live’: Good Confronts Evil in Ukraine | Michael Daly | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTObama happened to be in town the following Thursday, when there was a candlelight vigil for Rushing.
Brooklyn Shooting Hits Close to Bill de Blasio’s Park Slope Home | Michael Daly | July 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFinally, there was a vigil of about ten people standing hand in hand across the street form the clinic praying quietly.
After standing vigil at the scene of the crime, Adebolajo also approached cameras that began recording the aftermath.
There was no night to bring his vigil or his meditations to a close, but time wore him out at last.
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneIts hiding-place was discovered by angelic music which issued from the mouth of the cave on every vigil of the holy apostle.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 5 | Hubert Howe Bancroft“We will stay,” said my father; and as terrible a vigil as ever poor creatures kept commenced.
Mass' George | George Manville FennIt was not until long after midnight that he relaxed his straining, uneasy vigil, and stretched himself to unvexed sleep.
The Flockmaster of Poison Creek | George W. OgdenThis morning I succeeded in eluding my uncle's vigil, and here I am.
From Farm to Fortune | Horatio Alger Jr.
British Dictionary definitions for vigil
/ (ˈvɪdʒɪl) /
a purposeful watch maintained, esp at night, to guard, observe, pray, etc
the period of such a watch
RC Church Church of England the eve of certain major festivals, formerly observed as a night spent in prayer: often marked by fasting and abstinence and a special Mass and divine office
a period of sleeplessness; insomnia
Origin of vigil
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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