1. a period of staying awake during normal sleeping hours, especially to keep watch or pray
2. a peaceful gathering where people hold candles or lights to show support for a cause or remember someone
3. the evening or day before a religious festival
Usage: religious

Examples

• The nurses kept a vigil by the patient’s bedside all night.
• Hundreds of people attended the candlelight vigil for the victims.
• She maintained a silent vigil outside the courthouse during the trial.
• The community organized a vigil to protest the violence.
• Parents held vigil in the hospital waiting room.
• The vigil of Christmas Eve is an important tradition in many churches.
• They kept vigil through the long winter night.