Adjacent Words

Observe definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OBSERVE, v.t. obzerv'. [L. observo; ob and servo, to keep or hold. The sense is to hold in view, or to keep the eyes on.]
1. To see or behold with some attention; to notice; as, to observe a halo round the moon; I observed a singular phenomenon; we observe strangers or their dress. I saw the figure, but observed nothing peculiar in it.
2. To take notice or cognizance of by the intellect. We observe nice distinctions in arguments, or a peculiar delicacy of thought.
3. To utter or express, as a remark, opinion or sentiment; to remark. He observed that no man appears great to his domestics.
4. To keep religiously; to celebrate.
A night to be much observed to the Lord. Exodus 12.
Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Exodus 12.
Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. Galatians 4.
5. To keep or adhere to in practice; to comply with; to obey; as, to observe the laws of the state; to observe the rules and regulations of a society.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Matthew 28.
6. To practice.
In the days of Enoch, the people observed not circumcision or the sabbath.
OBSERVE, v.i. observ'.
1. To remark. I have heard the gentleman's arguments, and shall hereafter observe upon them.
2. To be attentive.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of; "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint" [syn: detect, observe, find, discover, notice]
2: make mention of; "She observed that his presentation took up too much time"; "They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing" [syn: note, observe, mention, remark]
3: observe with care or pay close attention to; "Take note of this chemical reaction" [syn: note, take note, observe]
4: watch attentively; "Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals"
5: show respect towards; "honor your parents!" [syn: respect, honor, honour, abide by, observe] [ant: disrespect]
6: behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" [syn: observe, celebrate, keep]
7: follow with the eyes or the mind; "Keep an eye on the baby, please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed the men with the binoculars" [syn: watch, observe, follow, watch over, keep an eye on]
8: stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees" [syn: observe, keep, maintain]
9: conform one's action or practice to; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract" [syn: observe, keep] [ant: breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress, violate]

Merriam Webster's

verb (observed; observing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French observer, from Latin observare to guard, watch, observe, from ob- in the way, toward + servare to keep — more at conserve Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to conform one's action or practice to (as a law, rite, or condition) ; comply with 2. to inspect or take note of as an augury, omen, or presage 3. to celebrate or solemnize (as a ceremony or festival) in a customary or accepted way 4. a. to watch carefully especially with attention to details or behavior for the purpose of arriving at a judgment b. to make a scientific observation on or of 5. to come to realize or know especially through consideration of noted facts 6. to utter as a remark intransitive verb 1. a. to take notice b. to make observations ; watch 2. remark, comment Synonyms: see keep • observingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. (often foll. by that, how + clause) perceive, note; take notice of; become conscious of. 2 tr. watch carefully. 3 tr. a follow or adhere to (a law, command, method, principle, etc.). b keep or adhere to (an appointed time). c maintain (silence). d duly perform (a rite). e celebrate (an anniversary). 4 tr. examine and note (phenomena) without the aid of experiment. 5 tr. (often foll. by that + clause) say, esp. by way of comment. 6 intr. (foll. by on) make a remark or remarks about. Derivatives: observable adj. observably adv. Etymology: ME f. OF observer f. L observare watch (as OB-, servare keep)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Observe Ob*serve", v. i. 1. To take notice; to give attention to what one sees or hears; to attend. 2. To make a remark; to comment; -- generally with on or upon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Observe Ob*serve", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Observed; p. pr. & vb. n. Observing.] [L. observare, observatum; ob (see Ob-) + servare to save, preserve, keep, heed, observe: cf.F. observer. See Serve.] 1. To take notice of by appropriate conduct; to conform one's action or practice to; to keep; to heed; to obey; to comply with; as, to observe rules or commands; to observe civility. Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. --Ex. xii. 17. He wolde no such cursedness observe. --Chaucer. Must I budge? Must I observe you? --Shak. With solemn purpose to observe Immutably his sovereign will. --Milton. 2. To be on the watch respecting; to pay attention to; to notice with care; to see; to perceive; to discover; as, to observe an eclipse; to observe the color or fashion of a dress; to observe the movements of an army. 3. To express as what has been noticed; to utter as a remark; to say in a casual or incidental way; to remark.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(observes, observing, observed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you observe a person or thing, you watch them carefully, especially in order to learn something about them. Stern also studies and observes the behaviour of babies... Our sniper teams observed them manning an anti-aircraft gun. VERB: V n, V n -ing, also V, V n inf 2. If you observe someone or something, you see or notice them. (FORMAL) In 1664 Hooke observed a reddish spot on the surface of the planet. VERB: V n 3. If you observe that something is the case, you make a remark or comment about it, especially when it is something you have noticed and thought about a lot. (FORMAL) We observe that the first calls for radical transformation did not begin until the period of the industrial revolution... 'He is a fine young man,' observed Stephen. VERB: V that, V with quote 4. If you observe something such as a law or custom, you obey it or follow it. Imposing speed restrictions is easy, but forcing motorists to observe them is trickier... The army was observing a ceasefire... VERB: V n, V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ob-zurv' (representing various words, but chiefly shamar, "to keep," "to watch" etc.): Properly means "to take heed to," as in Isa 42:20, "Thou seest many things, but thou observest not" and from this sense all the usages of the word in English Versions of the Bible can be understood. Most of them, indeed are quite good modern usage (as "observe a feast," Ex 12:17, etc.; "observe a law" Le 19:37, etc.), but a few are archaic. So Ge 37:11, the King James Version "His father observed the saying" (the Revised Version (British and American) "kept the saying in mind"); Ho 13:7, "As a leopard .... will I observe them" (the Revised Version (British and American) "watch"); Jon 2:8, "observe lying vanities" (the Revised Version (British and American) "regard," but "give heed to" would be clearer; compare Ps 107:43). Still farther from modern usage is Ho 14:8, "I have heard him, and observed him" (the Revised Version (British and American) "will regard"; the meaning is "care for"); and Mr 6:20, "For Herod feared John .... and observed him" (the Revised Version (British and American) "kept him safe"). In the last case, the King James Version editors seem to have used "to observe" as meaning "to give reverence to."

Observation is found in Lu 17:20, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation" (meta paratereseos). The meaning of the English is, "so that it can be observed," but the exact force of the underlying Greek ("visibly"? "so that it can be computed in advance"?) is a matter of extraordinary dispute at the present time.

See KINGDOM OF GOD.

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Notice, remark, note, watch, eye, mark, take note of, pay attention to. 2. See, behold, notice, perceive, detect, discover. 3. Utter, express, remark, mention, say. 4. Fulfil, obey, follow, comply with, conform to, adhere to, be faithful to. 5. Celebrate, regard, keep, solemnize. II. v. n. 1. Take notice, attend. 2. Make a remark, comment.

Moby Thesaurus

abide by, accommodate, accommodate with, accord, act up to, adapt, adapt to, adhere to, adjust, adjust to, administer, administer Communion, agree with, allude to, animadvert, assimilate to, attend, attend Communion, attend Mass, attend to, attend to orders, autopsy, be faithful to, be guided by, be vigilant, be watchful, beat the drum, behold, beholder, bend, blow the trumpet, blurt, blurt out, bystander, call attention to, canvass, carry out, carry through, case, catch sight of, celebrate, celebrate Mass, check, check out, check over, check up on, chime in with, clap eyes on, commemorate, comment, comment upon, commentate, communicate, complete, comply, comply with, compose, conform, conform to, consider, contemplate, conventionalize, correct, correspond, declare, defer to, descry, dignify, discern, discharge, discipline, discover, distinguish, do justice to, dress ship, effect, effectuate, enforce, espy, examine, exclaim, execute, eye, eyeball, eyewitness, fall in with, fill, fill out, fire a salute, fit, follow, follow the book, formalize, fulfill, gaze at, gear to, give an examination, glimpse, go by, go over, hallow, harken to, harmonize, have a looksee, have in sight, heed, hold by, hold in view, hold jubilee, honor, implement, inspect, interject, jubilate, jubilize, keep, keep faith with, keep in sight, keep in view, keep under observation, ken, lay eyes on, let drop, let fall, listen to, live up to, look, look after, look at, look on, look over, look upon, looker-on, maffick, make, make conform, make good, make merry, make out, make reference to, mark, meet, memorialize, mention, mind, mold, monitor, muse, note, notice, obey, obey the rules, observer, onlooker, opine, overhaul, overlook, pass over, pass under review, pay attention to, peer at, perceive, peruse, pick out, pore over, postmortem, promulgate, prosecute, put in force, put through, receive the Sacrament, recognize, reconcile, reconnoiter, rectify, refer to, reflect, regard, remark, remark upon, remember, render, respect, revere, reverence, review, ritualize, rub off corners, run over, satisfy, say, scan, scout, scrutinize, see, set an examination, settle, shape, sight, signalize, size, size up, solemnize, solemnly mark, sound a fanfare, speak, spot, spy, spy upon, state, stay in line, straighten, study, stylize, submit, suit, survey, take in, take note, take notice, take orders, take stock of, take the measure, tally with, tend, toe the line, transact, twig, up on, venerate, view, viewer, watch, watcher, witness, yield