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
The first superhero movie with a Latino protagonist, Blue Beetle stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime, a recent college grad who accidentally ends up bonding with an ancient alien relic that turns him into a high-flying vigilante.
—
Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
That’s my masked vigilante thing!
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
As the body count rises, Inspector Jack Phatudi is drawn into a dangerous manhunt to unmask the vigilante.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
Amid mounting pressure from both vigilante violence and municipal manipulation, Dearing settled the condemnation lawsuit and moved his family to 7th Street in West Oakland.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for vigilante
Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
That’s my masked vigilante thing!
—Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026
As the body count rises, Inspector Jack Phatudi is drawn into a dangerous manhunt to unmask the vigilante.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
Amid mounting pressure from both vigilante violence and municipal manipulation, Dearing settled the condemnation lawsuit and moved his family to 7th Street in West Oakland.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for vigilante
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vigilante
Noun
-
Penn, in the film, played the evil nemesis of DiCaprio's Bob Ferguson.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Since 2002, about 20,000 Chiricahuan leopard frogs have been reintroduced in some 80 former habitats now cleared of their arch nemesis.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And it was signed, black dahlia avenger.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
By the end of that first half hour, he has been unmasked as the bloody avenger of the backyard.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2026
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 19 Mar. 2026.
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