vigilance

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈvɪdʒələns/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The state or quality of being alertly watchful; careful and sustained watchfulness to detect and avoid danger or difficulty.; The act of keeping awake and watching, especially during the night; a vigil or watch.; In pharmacology and medicine, the ongoing monitoring of the safety of a drug or medical device after it has been approved for use, to detect adverse effects.; The ability to maintain attention and detect signals over prolonged periods, as studied in cognitive psychology.; Watchfulness against potential threats or enemies, especially in a military or political context.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

constant vigilanceeternal vigilancemaintain vigilanceheightened vigilanceexercise vigilanceeternal vigilance is the price of liberty

Derivatives

vigilantvigilantlyvigilantevigilantism

Synonyms

watchfulnessalertnessattentivenesswarinesscircumspectionheedfulness

Antonyms

carelessnessnegligenceinattentioncomplacency

Commonly confused

vigilante
EN: 'Vigilante' refers to a person who takes law enforcement into their own hands; 'vigilance' is the abstract quality of being watchful and alert.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the '-ance' ending (not '-ence'). Do not confuse with 'vigilante', which is a related but distinct word.

💬 Examples

  1. The security team maintained constant vigilance throughout the event.

  2. The nurse's vigilance through the night ensured the patient's condition was closely monitored.

  3. Post-marketing vigilance revealed a rare side effect that had not appeared in clinical trials.

  4. Air traffic controllers require high levels of vigilance to spot potential conflicts on radar screens.

  5. The general urged his troops to remain in a state of vigilance against surprise attacks.