vigilante

American  

[vij-uh-lan-tee] / ˌvɪdʒ əˈlæn ti /

noun

• vigilantes
  plural

1. a member of a vigilance committee.

2. any person who takes the law into their own hands, such as by avenging a crime.

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adjective

1. done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures.

   vigilante justice.

vigilante British  

/ ˌvɪdʒɪˈlæntɪ /

noun

1. one of an organized group of citizens who take upon themselves the protection of their district, properties, etc

2. Also called: vigilance man.  a member of a vigilance committee

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vigilanteism
  noun
• vigilantism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vigilantes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vigilante

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; from Spanish: literally, “vigilant”

Explanation

If you’re a vigilante, you might take the law into your own hands by trying to catch or punish someone in your own way. If you wrestle jaywalkers down to the ground, you might be called a vigilante. Vigilante is a form of the word vigilant, which means "keeping a watchful or close eye on events and people." Sometimes a vigilante will make news for catching a criminal, and sometimes vigilante groups form to target crimes in a bad neighborhood. A common combined use is "vigilante justice," which refers to a form of law-keeping outside of the official channels of police and the courts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vigilante vigilantes

America’s most-loved fictional titans, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, have bottomless wealth to fund their vigilante adventures, making them especially mesmerizing to an audience raised on rags-to-riches fables.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Plenty of people here sympathize with the mystery vigilante.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The army said the children and staff were rescued following "carefully planned and executed" operations alongside intelligence agencies, police and local vigilante groups.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

This wave of pressure was sparked after video clips were shared online over a fortnight ago that appeared to show vigilante groups harassing people they believed were in South Africa illegally.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

“That’s what we should do, Hazel Grace: We should team up and be this disabled vigilante duo roaring through the world, righting wrongs, defending the weak, protecting the endangered.”

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

So even though the so-called bond vigilantes may have taken a brief break from selling bonds, they probably haven’t gone away for good.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Universe conditioned us to worship such false idols, portraying wealthy, aristocratic heroes as our greatest defense against alien threats and vigilantes working beyond the reach of the law as the true keepers of justice.

From Salon ● May 24, 2026

The only discipline on this crowd are the bond vigilantes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

Bond vigilantes, he predicts, “would likely push bond yields higher in this scenario.”

From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026

If Booth was captured, the army would have to protect him from Lincoln’s avengers—rampaging mobs of vigilantes who might storm the Old Capitol Prison—if they discovered Booth was jailed there.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson