observation

American  

[ob-zur-vey-shuhn] / ˌɒb zɜrˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.

2. an act or instance of regarding attentively or watching.

3. the faculty or habit of observing or noticing.

   Synonyms:

   attention

4. notice.

   to escape a person's observation.

5. an act or instance of viewing or noting a fact or occurrence for some scientific or other special purpose.

   the observation of blood pressure under stress.

6. the information or record secured by such an act.

7. something that is learned in the course of observing things.

   My observation is that such clouds mean a storm.

8. a remark, comment, or statement based on what one has noticed or observed.

   Synonyms:

   opinion, pronouncement

9. the condition of being observed.

10. Navigation.

    1. the measurement of the altitude or azimuth of a heavenly body for navigational purposes.

    2. the information obtained by such a measurement.

11. Obsolete. observance, as of the law.

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observation British  

/ ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of observing or the state of being observed

2. a comment or remark

3. detailed examination of phenomena prior to analysis, diagnosis, or interpretation

   the patient was under observation

4. the facts learned from observing

5. an obsolete word for observance

6. nautical

   1. a sight taken with an instrument to determine the position of an observer relative to that of a given heavenly body

   2. the data so taken

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Related Words

See remark.

Other Word Forms

• nonobservation noun
• observational adjective
• observationally adverb
• preobservation noun
• reobservation noun
• self-observation noun

Etymology

Origin of observation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin observātiōn-, stem of observātiō “attention, inspection, surveillance,” from observāt(us) “watched” (past participle of observāre “to watch, regard, attend to”; observe ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Lamont’s missing IPOs observation rang more true when private money wasn’t available in such huge quantities.

From The Wall Street Journal

Armed with this book and a good camera, I was able to be in the observation car to photograph what I wanted to see.

From Los Angeles Times

This is why the next phase will be less about narratives and more about observation.

From MarketWatch

Mercedes driver George Russell made the same observation at their official launch on Monday.

From BBC

According to the researchers, Webb's observations show that this alignment is not accidental.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• conclusion
• consideration
• examination
• experience
• information
• inspection
• investigation
• knowledge
• measurement
• note
• perception
• remark
• research
• review
• study
• surveillance
• view