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Meaning & use

invigilating

verb·AcademicBritish

Last updated

UK/ɪnˈvɪdʒɪleɪtɪŋ/
US/ɪnˈvɪdʒəleɪtɪŋ/

“invigilating” is a form of “invigilate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meaning

  1. verbtransitive or intransitiveBritish

    Supervising students during an exam to ensure rules are followed and no cheating occurs.

    Grammar: Can be used with an object (invigilate an exam) or without (invigilate for three hours).

    Patterns

    • invigilate an exam
    • invigilate for a period of time
    • invigilate someone

    She spent the morning invigilating the final exam.

    Teachers take turns invigilating during the test week.

    He was invigilating when he noticed a student whispering.

Word forms

third person singularinvigilates
past tenseinvigilated
past participleinvigilated
-ing forminvigilating

Common combinations

invigilate an exam
Two teachers were assigned to invigilate the exam.
invigilate a test
She invigilated the test to make sure no one cheated.
invigilating duties
His invigilating duties kept him busy all week.

Synonyms and how they differ

proctor
Proctor is the usual American term for the same activity; in British English, invigilate is standard.
supervise
Supervise is a general word for watching over people or work; invigilate is specific to exams.
monitor
Monitor means to watch and check over time; invigilate is only for exams.

Word family

invigilator noun
A person who supervises an exam.
invigilation noun
The act of supervising an exam.

Commonly confused: invigilating or investigate?

invigilating vs investigate

Investigate means to examine a crime or problem; invigilate is only about supervising exams.

Practice

In British English, what does 'invigilating' mean?

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