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# vigil

«vigil» in Mova's school dictionary: **a time when you stay awake, especially at night, to watch…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a vigil, vigils)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A vigil is a time when you stay awake, especially at night, to watch over someone or something or to pray. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#m1)

2) A vigil is a quiet gathering of people to remember someone or to show they care about something, often with candles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#m2)

3) (church) A vigil is a service on the evening before a holy day, such as the Easter Vigil. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In church life, Christians keep a vigil of prayer, for example on Holy Saturday night (the Easter Vigil). Families may keep a vigil at a sick person's bed. After a sad event, people hold a candlelit vigil. In The Wind in the Willows Rat and Mole keep watch through the night looking for little Portly.

### examples

- The family kept a vigil by Grandad's bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x1)
- People held a candlelit vigil for the victims. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x2)
- The Easter Vigil is held on Saturday night. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x3)
- The soldiers kept vigil at the gate. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x4)
- Rat and Mole kept vigil all night by the river. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x5)
- She kept a long vigil waiting for news. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x6)
- Then he passed his vigils in Brugeford Chapel, and at dawn of day took his post on the Worm's Rock in the River Wear. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/#x7)

### note

Countable. Phrase: «keep (a) vigil». Adjective: vigilant (watchful). Related: vigilance.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «vigil» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/V/vigil/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.