Meaning & use
Vigilantism
Last updated
The act of taking law enforcement into one's own hands without legal authority, typically in response to perceived crime or injustice.
See it in a sentence
The film explores how vigilantism can spiral into further violence.
Online vigilantism against alleged scammers sometimes targets innocent people.
A note on using this word
Comes from "vigilante," Spanish for "watchman," which entered English in the 19th-century American West.
Words with a similar meaning
self-justicemob justice
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