Meaning & use
vigilante
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who punishes crime or enforces rules without official authority, often acting as part of a group.
Grammar: A vigilante is a count noun: you can say 'a vigilante' or 'vigilantes'.
Patterns
- a vigilante group
- act as a vigilante
- vigilante justice
The police warned that vigilante groups were taking the law into their own hands.
He was attacked by vigilantes who suspected him of theft.
Vigilante justice can lead to innocent people being hurt.
Word forms
| plural | vigilantes |
|---|
Common combinations
- vigilante group
- A vigilante group patrolled the neighborhood at night.
- vigilante justice
- Vigilante justice is not a substitute for the legal system.
- act as a vigilante
- He decided to act as a vigilante after the police failed to help.
Synonyms and how they differ
- avenger
- An avenger seeks revenge for a wrong done to them, while a vigilante seeks to enforce law or punish crime without authority.
- self-appointed law enforcer
- This phrase is more descriptive and less judgmental than vigilante, which often implies unlawful or excessive action.
Word family
- vigilantism noun
- The practice of taking the law into one's own hands.
Commonly confused: vigilante or vigilant?
vigilante vs vigilant
Vigilant is an adjective meaning 'watchful and alert', while vigilante is a noun for a person who enforces law without authority.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'vigilante' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 is correct because a vigilante group acts outside the law, often violently. Option 0 is wrong because vigilantes do not follow legal procedures. Option 2 confuses 'vigilante' with 'vigilant'. Option 3 uses 'vigilante' as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vigilante”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.