vigilant
Use vigilant to describe someone who keeps awake and alert in order to avoid danger or problems. When taking the subway, be vigilant about your wallet — always know where it is, or someone might steal it from you.
Vigilant descends from the Latin vigilare, "to be awake, watch," from vigil, "awake, alert." If you stay awake vigilantly all night, you're keeping watch or keeping a vigil. A vigilante (pronounced vij-uh-LAN-tee) is a person who acts outside the legal system to punish crime.
-
carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger“the vigilant eye of the town watch”synonyms: argus-eyed, open-eyed, wakeful
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing vigilant
American Heritage Dictionaries normally feature about 70,000 entries. From that multitude, the editors have chosen 100 words that are neither obscure nor outlandish that could give middle schoolers more aplomb and aptitude in their verbal encounters. If you're not sure whether that is something you need, study this list. Words selected by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a regimented community that is free from pain and suffering — but also free from joy, independence, and even color. When he is appointed the community's Receiver of Memory, Jonas begins to question everything he has been taught.
Learn these essential words that you'll encounter in literature, textbooks, class discussions, and more.