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

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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 research team used ALMA's Atacama Compact Array in Chile to observe 3I/ATLAS on several dates in late 2025 as it moved closer to the Sun.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

“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

An impala buck stepped onto the path far below, turned its head to observe the humans, and led a group of females across to the stream.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

She is not alone in feeling emotional as the nation observes the 25th anniversary of the attack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Low currency volatility is often a precursor to a pullback,” observes Watling.

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

“Very fishy,” Sammy observes, an expression which he says means that something strange is going on.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

She rushed to the Burbank-based network and observed her shell-shocked colleagues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Global observed oil stocks have fallen by about 2.8 million barrels a day on average since the start of the war, according to the IEA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

And regions home to around 900 million people lived through the hottest July ever observed, according to AFP analysis of Copernicus data.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed object ever observed entering our solar system from interstellar space, following 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

She had often observed the dassies as they foraged for grass.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Knutti agreed that this was a good example of how satellite data could potentially be used for "systematic observing systems for disaster prevention that could save hundreds or thousands of lives".

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Until now, directly observing this proposed mechanism had proved difficult.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Wide Field Instrument will focus on observing the night sky with the clarity of Hubble, but cover a vastly greater area than the 36-year-old observatory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

But observing 25th anniversaries is something we do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

During those weeks of waiting, Derek and I twice visited Gombe to try to encourage the Tanzanian field staff who were carrying on with observing the chimpanzees.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

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