Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb observe

9 senses of observe

Sense 1
detect, observe, find, discover, notice -- (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")
       => spy, sight -- (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge")

Sense 2
note, observe, mention, remark -- (make mention of; "She observed that his presentation took up too much time"; "They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing")
       => state, say, tell -- (express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name")

Sense 3
note, take note, observe -- (observe with care or pay close attention to; "Take note of this chemical reaction")

Sense 4
observe -- (watch attentively; "Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals")
       => watch -- (look attentively; "watch a basketball game")

Sense 5
respect, honor, honour, abide by, observe -- (show respect towards; "honor your parents!")
       => accept -- (consider or hold as true; "I cannot accept the dogma of this church"; "accept an argument")

Sense 6
observe, celebrate, keep -- (behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur")

Sense 7
watch, observe, follow, watch over, keep an eye on -- (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")
       => check, check up on, look into, check out, suss out, check over, go over, check into -- (examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition; "check the brakes"; "Check out the engine")

Sense 8
observe, keep, maintain -- (stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees")

Sense 9
observe, keep -- (conform one's action or practice to; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract")