1
as in to obey
to act according to the commands of
you must observe all the rules of this school, not simply the ones that meet with your personal approval
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to celebrate
to mark with an appropriate practice, rite, or ceremony
a time when few people in New England observed Christmas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to watch
to keep one's eyes on
happily spent many hours observing the birds at the backyard feeder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to reflect
to make a statement of one's opinion
"I think you might be mistaken," he observed
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in to notice
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
she observed that the weather had changed again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to follow
to take notice of and be guided by
generally observes the suggestions of the experts regarding baby care
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of observe
This year, the company began offering sailboat trips for between five and 10 people to observe the whales.
—
ABC News,
1 July 2026
Over the past year, the University of Denver Court Transparency Project has observed hundreds of hearings at the ICE detention center in Aurora, which is operated by the private prison firm GEO.
—
Anna Alejo,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
Over the weekend, however, caretakers observed a rapid decline in Makan’s condition.
—
Reeti Malhotra
july 1,
Sacbee.com,
1 July 2026
According to O’Conner’s first theory, the planet would have retained far more heat from when the star went red dwarf than the researchers observed.
—
Sam MacDonald,
Scientific American,
1 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for observe
ABC News,
1 July 2026
Over the past year, the University of Denver Court Transparency Project has observed hundreds of hearings at the ICE detention center in Aurora, which is operated by the private prison firm GEO.
—
Anna Alejo,
CBS News,
1 July 2026
Over the weekend, however, caretakers observed a rapid decline in Makan’s condition.
—
Reeti Malhotra
july 1,
Sacbee.com,
1 July 2026
According to O’Conner’s first theory, the planet would have retained far more heat from when the star went red dwarf than the researchers observed.
—
Sam MacDonald,
Scientific American,
1 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for observe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for observe
Verb
-
Tesla has said its Autopilot system enables vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake within their lanes, while Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes.
-
Nietzsche says somewhere that the illusion of willpower rests on our tendency to identify with the part of our soul that commands, not the part that obeys.
Verb
-
On Tuesday, more than a million fans took to the streets to celebrate Mexico’s advancement to the World Cup’s round of 16, a feat the national team hadn’t achieved since 1986, and with each victory, the human tide grows.
-
As America begins to celebrate its 250th birthday on Saturday, there are nearly 800,000 customers without power as outages are reported across multiple states.
Verb
-
San Clemente, San Juan Hills, Huntington Beach, Downey and Carson are the teams to watch.
-
Viewers can watch on ABC, ABC News Live, the ESPN App, Freeform, FX and National Geographic.
Verb
-
Trump blames vandalism for the troubles with the reflecting pool renovation, announces people are being arrested.
-
The first-of-its-kind event reflected a party eager to experiment and broaden its appeal beyond the traditional political crowd.
Verb
-
Court documents say witnesses noticed Lopez acting strangely before the attack.
-
Soon though, Shawna noticed some of Zaayer's strange behaviors — including scolding her grandson, getting upset over cleaning habits and allegedly showing them racist videos.
Verb
-
The reality is that leading men dictate roles and others follow as needed.
-
The Kings trailed 76-75 following a jumper by Tyler Bilodeau with 52 seconds to go.
Verb
-
The stage in question was newly erected on the White House lawn for the Freedom 250 celebration, planned to commemorate the semiquincentennial of America's founding.
-
To commemorate America’s 250th birthday, the Social Security Administration will issue limited-edition Social Security cards to babies born from Thursday to the end of the year.
Verb
-
However, the finale shows Oreana eyeing the positive results of a pregnancy test before asking Carter to run away together and start over.
-
The Swift operations team at Penn State University’s Eberly College of Science has reduced power usage and steered the observatory to eye the cosmos from a more streamlined position.
Cite this Entry
“Observe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/observe. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
