1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for qui vive
  1. watch
  2. watchfulness
  3. alert
Noun
  • The famed artist, known for his vibrant, playful sculptures of inflatable pups (one of which fetched over $58 million at auction in 2013), has teamed up with Hublot to turn his creations into a collection of watches.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Citi reiterates Meta as buy Citi added a positive catalyst watch on stock ahead of its Meta Connect conference.
    — Michael Bloom, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of watch
Noun
  • Hechinger, all raw nerve and watchfulness, announces himself as a star.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The multiple heads can be said to represent divine watchfulness of the world and devotees.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of watchfulness
Noun
  • The federal prosecutors who convicted Diamantis said the government is determining what happened, including how someone subject to a travel alert could fly to Europe undetected.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • TxDOT had been sending alerts about the closure to phones in the area.
    — Steven Rosenbaum, CBS News, 18 Sep. 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

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All