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

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

Adam Dodge, founder of advocacy and education group Ending Tech-Enabled Abuse, says that until Google proactively removes more NCII, victims have to be hypervigilant about finding and reporting it themselves. —Paresh Dave, WIRED, 8 July 2024

Racial tensions in the wake of George Floyd's murder in May 2020 have made daters hypervigilant when meeting new people and matching on the apps. —Myisha Battle, TIME, 13 Apr. 2024

Formal regulation may take time, but to generate and maintain widespread societal buy-in, companies should be hypervigilant in enforcing guardrails to ensure safe and appropriate use. —François Candelon, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above