vigilant

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈvɪdʒɪlənt/ UK /ˈvɪdʒɪlənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulty

The sentries stayed vigilant throughout the long, moonless night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · keeping careful watch for... watchful alert attentive wary observant circumspect

Opposites

careless negligent inattentive heedless oblivious

Word family

Derived forms vigilancevigilantly

Related forms vigil vigilanteinvigilate

Etymology

From Latin 'vigilans' (stem 'vigilant-'), present participle of 'vigilare' ('to keep awake, watch'), from 'vigil' ('awake, watchful').

vigilans Latin vigilare Latin *weǵ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# vigilant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvɪdʒɪlənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈvɪdʒɪlənt/

## Meanings
1. keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulty

## Examples
- The sentries stayed vigilant throughout the long, moonless night.

## Synonyms
- watchful
- alert
- attentive
- wary
- observant
- circumspect

## Antonyms
- careless
- negligent
- inattentive
- heedless
- oblivious

## Derived Forms
- vigilance
- vigilantly

## Related Forms
- vigil
- vigilante
- invigilate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vigilans
- Root: vigilare
- Root: *weǵ-

## Etymology
From Latin 'vigilans' (stem 'vigilant-'), present participle of 'vigilare' ('to keep awake, watch'), from 'vigil' ('awake, watchful').

## AI Etymology
Vigilant comes from Latin 'vigilans' (stem 'vigilant-'), present participle of 'vigilare' ('to keep awake, watch'), from 'vigil' ('awake, watchful'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulty". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The -ing ending supplies a participial or action-noun shape. The historical chain includes Latin vigilans, Latin vigilare, and Proto-Indo-European *weǵ-. Related English forms include vigil, vigilante, and invigilate. Derived forms include vigilance and vigilantly. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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