vigilante

See also: Vigilante

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish vigilante (“watchman, guard”), from Latin vigilans. Doublet of vigilant.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.ɪˈlæn.ti/, /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.ɪˈlɑːn.teɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌvɪd͡ʒ.əˈlæn.ti/

Noun

vigilante (plural vigilantes)

1. A member of a vigilance committee. [from 19th c.]
2. A person who acts outside of legal authority, often violently, to punish or avenge a crime, right a perceived wrong, etc.
   • 2005, Hazel E. Nelson, Cognitive-behavioural therapy with delusions and hallucinations, page 217:

     For example, a voice accusing a man of being a paedophile might be based on recent TV news programmes about antipaedophile vigilante groups, plus the memory of having been accused of being a pervert by a neighbour, plus fears that he might be a secret paedophile because he enjoyed reading Lolita.

   • 2011, Richard Zelade, Lone Star Travel Guide to Central Texas, page 274:

     Jeptha Billingsley, who was no prize pig himself (he had been arrested for horse theft and assault with intent to murder), was to be taught a lesson, and the vigilantes made him cut down the McLemores.

Derived terms

• antivigilante
• bond vigilante
• cybervigilante
• digilante
• vigilanteism
• vigilantelike
• vigilantism
• vigilantist

Translations

person who considers it their responsibility to summarily uphold the law

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 義務警員 / 义务警员 (yìwù jǐngyuán), 治安會會員 / 治安会会员 (zhì'ānhuì huìyuán)

• Dutch: lid van een waakzaamheidscomité, eigenrechter
• Faroese: sjálvrættarmaður
• Finnish: omankädenoikeuden käyttäjä
• French: justicier (fr) m
• German: Bürgerwehrler m, Mitglied einer Bürgerwehr n
• Greek: βιτζιλάντε (vitzilánte), εθελοντής φρουρός (ethelontís frourós), εκδικητής (el) (ekdikitís)
• Hungarian: önbíráskodó, önkéntes/önjelölt polgárőr, önkényes igazságosztó/rendfenntartó
• Japanese: 自警団員 (ja) (じけいだんいん, jikeidan'in)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} ویژیلانته (vižilânte)
• Polish: no equivalent term in Polish, but see samozwańczy obrońca m
• Portuguese: justiceiro (pt) m
• Russian: дружи́нник (ru) m (družínnik), дружи́нница (ru) f (družínnica) (member of a voluntary public order squad), виджила́нте m or f (vidžilántɛ) (US), член «комите́та бди́тельности» m (člen «komitéta bdítelʹnosti»), титу́шка (ru) m or f (titúška) (neologism), хунвэйби́н (ru) m (xunvɛjbín) (hongweibing), черносо́тенец (ru) m (černosótenec) (historically member of "Black Hundred"), охотноря́дец (ru) m (oxotnorjádec), погро́мщик (ru) m (pogrómščik)
• Spanish: justiciero m, vigilantista m or f
• Thai: ศาลเตี้ย (th) (sǎan-dtîia)
• Turkish: kabadayı (tr)

Anagrams

• genitival

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adjective

vigilante

1. feminine singular of vigilant

Italian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vigilantem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vi.d͡ʒiˈlan.te/
• Rhymes: -ante
• Hyphenation: vi‧gi‧làn‧te

Participle

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilanti)

1. present participle of vigilare

Adjective

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilanti)

1. vigilant, watchful, alert

   Synonyms: vigile, attento

Related terms

• vigilanza
• vigilare

Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilanti)

1. security guard
2. vigilante

Anagrams

• vigliante

Latin

Participle

vigilante

1. ablative masculine/feminine/neuter singular of vigilāns

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vigilantem.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.t͡ʃi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /vɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /vɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/, /bɨ.ʒiˈlɐ̃.tɨ/

• Hyphenation: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

Adjective

vigilante m or f (plural vigilantes)

1. vigilant; watchful; observant (alert and paying close attention)

Derived terms

• vigilantemente

Related terms

• vigilância
• vigiar

Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilantes)

1. a person whose job is to watch over something; a security guard

   Synonyms: segurança, vigia

Further reading

• “vigilante”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “vigilante”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bixiˈlante/ [bi.xiˈlãn̪.t̪e]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ante
• Syllabification: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin vigilantem.

Adjective

vigilante m or f (masculine and feminine plural vigilantes)

1. watchful, alert, wakeful

   Synonyms: alerta, listo

Noun

vigilante m or f by sense (plural vigilantes)

1. guard, watchman

   Synonym: guarda

Derived terms

• vigilancia
• vigilante de seguridad
• vigilante jurado
• vigilantemente
• vigilar

Etymology 2

From Argentinian anarchist bakers who named their pastries in a provocative manner as a political statement. These pastries in particular were named after police batons in reference to their straight and tubular shape.

Noun

vigilante m (plural vigilantes)

1. (Rioplatense) a roll made from puff pastry, similar to a croissant, often topped with quince cheese or pastry cream

   Coordinate term: medialuna

Etymology 3

Noun

vigilante m (plural vigilantes)

1. (Argentina) clipping of postre vigilante (an Argentinian dessert combining a sweet ingredient (often quince cheese) and cheese)

   Synonyms: queso y dulce, postre Martín Fierro

Further reading

• “vigilante”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin vigilantemlbor.

Spanish vigilante

English vigilanteubor.

Tagalog vigilante

Unadapted borrowing from English vigilante, from Spanish vigilante, a learned borrowing from Latin vigilantem. Doublet of bihilante.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /vid͡ʒiˈlante/ [vɪ.d͡ʒɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ]
  • IPA^(key): (with nativization) /bid͡ʒiˈlante/ [bɪ.d͡ʒɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ], (with nativization, no palatal assimilation) /bidjiˈlante/ [bɪd̪.jɪˈlan̪.t̪ɛ]
• Rhymes: -ante
• Syllabification: vi‧gi‧lan‧te

Noun

vigilante (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜒᜇ᜔ᜌᜒᜎᜈ᜔ᜆᜒ)

1. vigilante
2. a person suspected to be involved in extrajudicial killings in the drug war in the Philippines from 2016

See also

• salvage

Further reading

• “vigilante”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018