Vigilance: meaning, example and synonyms
Vigilancen. Careful, watchful attention to possible danger or difficulty.
Example
Because the virus can spread before symptoms appear, health officials stressed that vigilance, not panic, was the most effective response.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Synonyms
- watchfulness, alertness, attentiveness, caution
- Antonyms
- negligence, carelessness, inattention, laxity
- Memory tip
- A vigil is staying awake to keep watch; vigilance is that watchfulness.
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Check yourself: Vigilance in context
Because counterfeit medicines can closely resemble genuine ones, pharmacists are urged to maintain constant ______, inspecting packaging and verifying the source of every shipment.
Answer: vigilance. Inspecting and verifying everything is careful watchfulness. Profusion (abundance), animosity (hostility) and latency (dormancy) are not something one maintains by inspecting.
The night watchman's ______ never lapsed; he walked the museum's galleries every hour and noted even the slightest change in a display case's position.
Answer: vigilance. Hourly rounds and noticing tiny changes show watchful attention. Apathy is the opposite; latency and profusion don't describe a guard's attentiveness.