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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

He leads an institute behind many scientific feats: It gave birth to JPL 90 years ago, created the earthquake Richter scale and helped build the first detectors to observe cosmic gravitational waves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Infrared cameras allowed the researchers to observe the spiders throughout the night without relying on visible light.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

The ability to observe this process directly provides a clearer picture of how skyrmions respond when their organized structures break apart.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

There will be plenty to observe in the second 100 days of Burnham's government and beyond.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

I do not know how not to observe them.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Flavio Bolsonaro wears a black shirt and shoulders a backpack as he disembarks the plane alongside his wife and two daughters, AFP observes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

To investigate Masaya's underground activity, the researchers analyzed measurements collected by the Sentinel-1 satellite, which observes the volcano approximately once every 12 days.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Calvasina observes, however, that tech outside of the United States still looks appealing on performance, valuation and demand metrics.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Most of it comes out of the ground with the consistency of cold peanut butter,” observes economist David I. Levine of UC Berkeley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Even the brightest, best-meaning teenager doesn’t tend to think much beyond the moment, especially when they’re with their friends,” observes Gerstenfeld.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Bethan Laughlin, a senior policy specialist for the Zoological Society of London who observed the COP17 negotiations firsthand, said the trend was worrying.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

Larger studies conducted over longer periods will be needed to determine whether the observed changes in dental plaque translate into meaningful protection against tooth decay.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

But Temple and his collaborators began questioning whether the underlying mathematics could remain stable, prompting them to investigate other possible explanations for the observed acceleration.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

In the last carriage of the Renfe train, Miguel Ángel Pérez observed a similar scene.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

It was an expression that would be familiar to anyone who had observed Penelope deep in thought.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

But the plans were abandoned, with analysts observing that neither company’s hometown wanted to yield primacy to the other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

This means astronomers are observing it as it existed just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

In 2005, as Northern Ireland's peace process was being cemented, the group was observing a ceasefire.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

He wrote in a May 1949 letter that his wife and another unnamed individual “reported observing six objects over Catalina Island on the night of April 28, 1949,” according to the files released Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

She was blind, but she had other ways of observing.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

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