hypervigilant

adjective

hy·​per·​vig·​i·​lant ˌhī-pər-ˈvi-jə-lənt 

variants or hyper-vigilant

: extremely or excessively vigilant : highly or abnormally alert to potential danger or threat

After an accident or an assault, most people tend to feel unsafe, to have a reduced startle threshold, and to be hypervigilant.

—Irvin D. Yalom

Through its hypervigilant security measures, this state-run airline keeps its passengers safe from everyone except its own surly flight attendants.

—Craig Offman

We all have to be hyper-vigilant about our own affairs and those of our kids and elderly loved ones.

—Teresa Dixon Murray

Examples of hypervigilant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To suss them out, skywatchers stay hypervigilant for any one-off dip in starlight when a rogue planet crosses serendipitously in front of a star. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025

Instead of using stress as a momentary burst of energy to handle a challenge, your nervous system stays trapped in a hypervigilant state, constantly preparing for the next emotional shift. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025

As Cha-il, the auditing department’s perpetually exasperated and hypervigilant leader, Shin helps to uncover various scandals and white collar crimes. —Simon Abrams, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024

As the foundations for building an independent adult life continue to crumble under young people’s feet, hypervigilant parents are fixated more than ever on the top-flight college degree as a guarantor of their children’s financial comfort and social standing. —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hypervigilant

• vigilant