bystander:
(plural: ‘bystanders/’onlookers‘; the word opposite in meaning: ‘party’, ‘participant’, ‘partaker’; for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here)
a person standing near a place of accident, fight or quarrel watching the scene but not taking any part in it;
an onlooker,
many bystanders at an accident scene
e.g.
It seems that in the shoot-out between the police and the gangsters, a bystander was killed and two gangsters and one policeman were injured.
Though there were several bystanders watching the fight, none came to the rescue of the innocent man who was beaten to death by some thugs.
The police warned the bystanders not to cross the police tape that was used to cordon off the scene of accident.
For a news item that shows how this word is used in everyday life, please click here and for an article (with videos) on a phenomenon called ‘bystander effect’, please click here.
Return to “onlooker“.
