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vigilante


vig·i·lan·te

noun \ˌvi-jə-ˈlan-tē\

Definition of VIGILANTE

: a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily (as when the processes of law are viewed as inadequate); broadly : a self-appointed doer of justice
— vig·i·lan·tism \-ˈlan-ˌti-zəm\ noun
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Examples of VIGILANTE

  1. <the danger of these self-appointed vigilantes is that they sometimes go after innocent people>

Origin of VIGILANTE

Spanish, watchman, guard, from vigilante vigilant, from Latin vigilant-, vigilans
First Known Use: 1856

Related to VIGILANTE

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

Rhymes with VIGILANTE

non obstante, penny-ante

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