qui vive

noun

kē-ˈvēv How to pronounce qui vive (audio)
Definition of qui vivenext
as in watch
the state of being constantly attentive and responsive to signs of opportunity, activity, or danger an army on the qui vive for enemy attack

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for qui vive
  1. watch
  2. watchfulness
  3. alert
Noun
  • Still, there’s a kind of hip, comfort food aspect to the entire enterprise that keeps it an easy, if slightly cluttered and overlong watch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In less time than that, the salesperson came back with my three watches and just gave them to me.
    — Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of watch
Noun
  • For now, the consensus among Wall Street’s economists is less alarm than watchfulness.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But the book’s ruminative watchfulness is unsuccessfully conjugated in this overly sedate play with music, which has the feel of a song cycle, though sung by the fine cast with gorgeous, lonely sorrow.
    — Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 19 June 2026
Definition of watchfulness
Noun
  • The alerts have piled up, with cyclospora occupying much of the attention this year, as the parasitic infection gave explosive diarrhea to people in 48 states.
    — Dian Zhang, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Rescuers were on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high up in the Himalayan mountains after the initial floods Wednesday.
    — Niranjan Shrestha, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of alert
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

quivers
qui vive
quixote
See all Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Qui vive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/qui%20vive. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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