vigilante
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++vig·i·lan·te /ˌvɪdʒəˈlænti/ noun [countable] SSOSCCsomeone who illegally punishes criminals and tries to prevent crime, usually because they think the police are not doing this effectively 民间护法者，义务警察〔指因认为警方办事不力而私自非法惩治罪犯、试图防止犯罪的人〕 —vigilantism noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
vigilante• Most anywhere else, vigilante is a bad word.• Many of the dead were said to be members of anti-guerrilla vigilante self-defence organisations.• Three pickups appeared at one end of town like vigilantes out of the plains.• In no other circumstances would she have tolerated militant vigilantes operating with impunity so far beyond their own domains.• The original vigilantes are an example of people taking authority into their own hands when everything was unraveling.• As such it means that vigilante heroes, nomatterhow good, are not the stuff of which Christians are made.• The hesitancy of the vigilantes seemed only due now to mutual dislike, which would soon resolve itself one way or another.• Bronson will return to the role of Paul Kersey to take on the Mafia in the latest sequel to the vigilante saga.Origin vigilante (1800-1900) Spanish “person who keeps watch, guard”, from Latin vigilans; → VIGILANTvig·i·lan·te nounChineseSyllable
and punishes prevent crime, Corpus illegally who to criminals someone tries
vigilante
vig‧i‧lan‧te /ˌvɪdʒəˈlænti, ˌvɪdʒɪˈlænti/
noun [countable]
—vigilantism noun [uncountable]
vig‧i‧lan‧te /ˌvɪdʒəˈlænti, ˌvɪdʒɪˈlænti/
noun [countable] Date: 1800-1900
Language: Spanish
Origin: 'person who keeps watch, guard', from Latin vigilans; ⇨ vigilant
someone who illegally punishes criminals and tries to prevent crime, usually because they think the police are not doing this effectivelyLanguage: Spanish
Origin: 'person who keeps watch, guard', from Latin vigilans; ⇨ vigilant
—vigilantism noun [uncountable]
sometimes