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

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

If you were a TV show, nothing would be more certain to gain my attention than to be a French-made, French-language series about Zorro, the masked vigilante swordsman of old Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

In the show, Nicolas Cage's character is a former vigilante known as The Spider, who is working through issues from his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city's only superhero.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

A self-styled "pothole vigilante" from Horsham has become a social media star by planting flowers in damaged roads across West Sussex.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

In the Hyde Park and Englewood districts, men organized vigilante groups and sent word to Chief of Police Glenman offering aid.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

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

But so-called bond vigilantes may force him to change his tune.

From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026

Surprised by this unusual cobbling together of Hindu and Muslim names, the vigilantes left.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

Well, he would be ill-advised to repeat this ploy once my punctuation vigilantes are on the loose.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author