as in nemesis
one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense
the danger of these self-appointed vigilantes is that they sometimes go after innocent people
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Recent Examples of vigilante
So there's going to be people, vigilantes, superheroes that are involved in that.
—
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead of a sense of outrage leading to a search for a better solution for repeat violent offenders, her death generated calls for collective retribution and vigilante justice.
—Zeynep Tufekci, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
Experts have warned that hypertoxic and violent language can sometimes influence people offline, including by encouraging acts of vigilante violence against those seen as disloyal, although there have been no reports of further violence since Kirk’s killing.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
Armed with clubs and pistols, vigilantes went door to door, herding more than three hundred men, women, and children through the streets and out of town.
—Beth Lew-Williams, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vigilante
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead of a sense of outrage leading to a search for a better solution for repeat violent offenders, her death generated calls for collective retribution and vigilante justice.
—Zeynep Tufekci, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
Experts have warned that hypertoxic and violent language can sometimes influence people offline, including by encouraging acts of vigilante violence against those seen as disloyal, although there have been no reports of further violence since Kirk’s killing.
—David Ingram, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
Armed with clubs and pistols, vigilantes went door to door, herding more than three hundred men, women, and children through the streets and out of town.
—Beth Lew-Williams, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vigilante
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vigilante
Noun
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Through Chapter Progression, players can recruit Blazkowicz alongside his nemesis, scientist Strasse, both available with zero perks.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
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Even Pep Guardiola, once Mourinho’s cultural nemesis, employed stymying tactics as his Manchester City side ended their game at Arsenal earlier this month with just 33 per cent of possession.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Kirk had been building his reputation as an imperious, right-wing avenger on college campuses, debating anyone willing to step up to the microphone to challenge him.—
Michael Luo,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
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Mangione's image has been merged into memes with Nintendo's Luigi, portraying him as a vigilante avenger of systemic injustice.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Montgomery has barely been in the big leagues for two months but has already put his name alongside a couple of franchise icons (and another hard-core punisher of baseballs).—
Phil Rogers,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vigilante.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vigilante. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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