Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a member of a vigilance committee.
- any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime.
adjective
- done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures: vigilante justice.
noun
- US the methods, conduct, attitudes, etc, associated with vigilantes, esp militancy, bigotry, or suspiciousness
noun
- one of an organized group of citizens who take upon themselves the protection of their district, properties, etc
- Also called: vigilance man US a member of a vigilance committee
“member of a vigilance committee,” 1856, American English, from Spanish vigilante, literally “watchman,” from Latin vigilantem (see vigilance). Vigilant man in same sense is attested from 1824 in a Missouri context. Vigilance committees kept informal rough order on the frontier or in other places where official authority was imperfect.