observance
Americannoun
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an act or instance of following, obeying, or conforming to.
the observance of traffic laws.
- Synonyms:
- heedfulness, adherence, compliance
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a keeping or celebration by appropriate procedure, ceremonies, etc..
the observance of the Sabbath.
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a procedure, ceremony, or rite, as for a particular occasion.
patriotic observances.
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a rule or custom to be followed or obeyed; a customary practice.
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Roman Catholic Church.
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a rule or discipline for a religious house or order.
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a house or order observing a rule or discipline.
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an act or instance of watching, noting, or perceiving; observation.
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respectful attention or service.
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Archaic. courteous attention as to a person; dutiful service.
noun
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recognition of or compliance with a law, custom, practice, etc
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the act of such recognition
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a ritual, ceremony, or practice, esp of a religion
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observation or attention
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the degree of strictness of a religious order or community in following its rule
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archaic respectful or deferential attention
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of observance
1175–1225; Middle English observaunce < Old French < Late Latin observantia, Latin: esteem, attention, derivative of observant- (stem of observāns ), present participle of observāre. See observe, -ance
Explanation
Observance is when you obey a rule or law, or follow a long-standing tradition. If your religious observance requires you to fast for several days, you might ask your track coach to let you sit out a race. Observance of traffic laws will usually keep you from getting expensive speeding tickets. And, practicing a religion usually includes various kinds of observance, from attending church or temple to wearing certain items of clothing. You can also use this noun to mean "watching or noticing," like a bird watcher's careful observance of a bush where he once spotted a rare finch — although this is more commonly called observation.
Vocabulary lists containing observance
The Merchant of Venice
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As You Like It
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1.6: Development of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Religions (Sources 1–8)
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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.
Trading will be abbreviated by a day in the week ahead, with markets closed on Friday, June 3, in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 28, 2026
What’s News will be off tomorrow in observance of Juneteenth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
It will be a holiday shortened week with markets closed Friday in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
There’s a tendency to mark such days of observance with long gazes at Black suffering.
From Salon • Jun. 18, 2021
All religions, even musical ones, need their Eucharist, their Pooja, their Shahada, their Pint - moments of high observance and ritual.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
