Synonyms

observe

American

[uhb-zurv] / əbˈzɜrv /

verb (used with object)

to see, watch, perceive, or notice.

He observed the passersby in the street.

Antonyms:

ignore
to regard with attention, especially so as to see or learn something.

I want you to observe her reaction to the judge's question.

Synonyms:

note

Antonyms:

ignore
to watch, view, or note for a scientific, official, or other special purpose.

to observe an eclipse.

Antonyms:

ignore
to state by way of comment; remark.

He observed frequently that clerks were not as courteous as they used to be.

Synonyms:

say, mention
to keep or maintain in one's action, conduct, etc..

You must observe quiet.
to obey, comply with, or conform to.

to observe laws.

Synonyms:

fulfill, follow

Antonyms:

ignore
to show regard for by some appropriate procedure, ceremony, etc..

to observe Palm Sunday.

Synonyms:

keep, celebrate

Antonyms:

ignore
to perform duly or solemnize (ceremonies, rites, etc.).

Antonyms:

ignore
to note or inspect closely for an omen or sign of future events.

verb (used without object)

to notice.
to act as an observer.
to remark or comment (usually followed by on orupon ).

observe British

/ əbˈzɜːv /

verb

(tr; may take a clause as object) to see; perceive; notice

we have observed that you steal
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to watch (something) carefully; pay attention to (something)
to make observations of (something), esp scientific ones
to make a comment or remark

the speaker observed that times had changed
(tr) to abide by, keep, or follow (a custom, tradition, law, holiday, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

Observe, witness imply paying strict attention to what one sees or perceives. Both are “continuative” in action. To observe is to mark or be attentive to something seen, heard, etc.; to consider carefully; to watch steadily: to observe the behavior of birds, a person's pronunciation. To witness, formerly to be present when something was happening, has added the idea of having observed with sufficient care to be able to give an account as evidence: to witness an accident.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of observe

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English observen, from Middle French observer, from Latin observāre “to watch, regard, attend to,” equivalent to ob- ob- + servāre “to keep, save, pay heed to”

Explanation

Observe is often used to mean “remark” or “comment.” When trying to start up a conversation with an attractive stranger, you might observe that it’s raining outside (but hopefully you’ll come up with something more interesting to say). Observe has several secondary meanings, one of which is “notice” or “discover.” If you start a conversation with that attractive stranger, you’ll probably observe whether he or she seems interested in talking to you. Observe can also mean “watch carefully with great interest”; you might be tempted to observe the attractive stranger in this manner, but that might make him or her uncomfortable. Try to stay cool.

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Vocabulary lists containing observe

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

observe observes observed observing

“The people in Lewisville, Texas have a reasonable expectation of privacy from police officers in Pampa, Texas, and yet they can observe all that data,” Little said.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

“Bad actors are not using the AI services consumers use, like Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude, which would have the ability to observe what they’re doing and stop them,” Grobman says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

It’s still summer break in the U.S., so regular classes at the majority of schools and colleges are not in session yet, and those that are tend to observe the federal holiday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Different wavelengths allow astronomers to observe different altitudes within Saturn's atmosphere, producing small shifts in where the decagon seems to appear.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

But then I observe a third look in her eyes.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

The upshot of this would be EPS-negative, lowering earnings per share expectations, Hartnett observes, but, overall, the political changes would challenge the K-shaped wealth boom and the surge of AI capital expenditure.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

"You feel guilty being there - going to the beach and having a good time, while these families are in such terrible situations," observes a woman with her young daughter.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

"This led me to hypothesize that the biophysical properties of cells influence the altered metabolic programs that everyone observes in tumors."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

Any abnormal appearance in the skies, he observes, is “profoundly disorienting.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

He stops by the girl with red lips and observes Saint Sarah.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Just three months ago, while on a research vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, she observed two.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

The power supply was cut off in the area, where dozens of police officers had been deployed, an AFP journalist observed.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

Instead, the researchers observed a local minimum in the oscillation amplitude across certain temperature ranges.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Only about 70 have been observed or collected, the institute said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Since Fischer’s Worldwide Church of God faith observed the same dietary and many of the Sabbath laws as the Judaic tradition, Grossinger’s was an ideal selection.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Despite the unprecedented nature of the strike, the Ukrainian president proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia for the duration of the US envoys' trip.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

Already, officials are observing higher tides than typical.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Researchers in Japan have captured an extraordinarily fast electronic transformation inside a metal-organic framework, observing a fleeting state and the hidden state that followed within just 30 femtoseconds.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

But observing 25th anniversaries is something we do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

“Like Ralph Waldo Emerson? Ms. Jacobs says he was really into observing, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Observing. Like I’m an eyeball. And writing what I observe in my eyeball journal.”

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023