qui vive
- noun
- Archaic
:
estado de alerta
- As a soldier, she learned to be on qui vive for any signs of enemy activity.
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) -
The security guard stayed on qui vive throughout the night to ensure the building was protected.
-
- On the qui vive.
-
I would not be caught off guard but perpetually conscious, aware, on the qui vive.
Academic text (1996) -
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.
Academic text (1997) -
During the storm, the dog was on qui vive, sensing the changes in the environment.
Synonyms
137
3.5
A state of being ready and watchful for possible danger
33
5.2
A state of watching and staying ready for danger
14
2.9
A state of being watchful and ready to notice and act on danger or problems
2
4.2
Careful attention to danger or problems to keep people safe
Antonyms
How Alert
- Specialized
1
8.6
66
6.0
37
3.2
- Archaic
82
2.8
∞
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
qui + vive
This is a borrowed French phrase whose literal constituents ('qui', 'vive') are not English words and do not transparently combine to mean 'a state of alertness' for an English B1 learner. The expression is idiomatic in English (on the qui vive) and its meaning cannot be derived from the constituent forms without knowledge of French or the historical phrase, so it will be unpredictable to learners who only know the parts as given.
Etymology
Qui vive comes from a question guards shouted, Qui vive?, to ask 'who goes there'. That sudden call made people stay ready and watchful, so qui vive now means 'on the alert'.