on the qui vive
- idiom
- Formal
:
en alerta
- We all have to remain on the qui vive, and we have to make sure that we readjust possible interactional imbalances in full awareness and recognition of our and others' communicative styles.
Examples
-
Always on the qui vive for anti-Semitism, my father seemed more impressed by his new neighbor's ability to survive in an alien world than by his athletic prowess.
Fiction book (2001) -
I would not be caught off guard but perpetually conscious, aware, on the qui vive.
Academic text (1996) -
During the safety meeting, the supervisor reminded everyone to be on the qui vive for potential hazards.
-
As the storm approached, residents stayed on the qui vive for any changes in the weather.
-
The security team was on the qui vive throughout the event to ensure the safety of all attendees.
Synonyms
66
6.0
A person who keeps careful watch for danger or problems
27
3.5
Alert and ready to act if danger or problems appear
6
4.4
Ready and alert to notice danger or problems
Alert and ready to deal with danger or problems
Antonyms
How Alert
- Specialized
1
8.6
- Formal
82
2.8
61
3.0
∞
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
on + the + qui + vive
This is a French loanphrase (on the qui vive) whose non-English constituents 'qui' and 'vive' are not interpretable by a typical B1 learner, and the idiomatic meaning 'alert, on the lookout' is not compositionally derivable from 'on' + 'the' + those foreign words. Even learners who know the English words cannot predict the idiomatic sense; only knowledge of the borrowed expression (or French) would reveal the meaning, so it is opaque.
Etymology
On the qui vive comes from an old French guard call. Guards would shout qui vive to ask 'Who goes there?', so to be on the qui vive means to be watchful and ready.