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
Other people online have lashed out at Winkler for spreading panic or calls for vigilante justice, the Daily Beast reported.
—
Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2025
The new group brought together bands of white vigilantes who had massacred and maimed African Americans since the end of the Civil War.
—Brittany Friedman / Made By History, TIME, 6 Jan. 2025
That same weekend, another massacre was carried out in Petite-Rivière, a small rural town in the Artibonite region where residents were killed by both gang members and a neighborhood vigilante group that was formed to protect itself from gangs.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
Some people are now calling for more vigilante justice, saying that this killing on the F Train would not have happened if someone like Penny were on the train.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vigilante 
Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2025
The new group brought together bands of white vigilantes who had massacred and maimed African Americans since the end of the Civil War.
—Brittany Friedman / Made By History, TIME, 6 Jan. 2025
That same weekend, another massacre was carried out in Petite-Rivière, a small rural town in the Artibonite region where residents were killed by both gang members and a neighborhood vigilante group that was formed to protect itself from gangs.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025
Some people are now calling for more vigilante justice, saying that this killing on the F Train would not have happened if someone like Penny were on the train.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for vigilante
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Cite this Entry
“Vigilante.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vigilante. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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