Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having or showing keen perceptiveness; perceptive.
- adjective Diligent in observing a law, custom, duty, or principle.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Watching; watchful; observing; having or characterized by good powers of observation, or attention, care, accuracy, etc., in observing: as, an observant mind; a man of observant habits.
- Attentive; obedient; submissive; ready to obey and serve; hence, obsequious: with to or of before a personal object.
- Carefully attentive in observing or performing whatever is prescribed or required; strict in observing and practising: with of: as, he was very observant of the rules of his order; observant of forms.
- Synonyms and
- Watchful, mindful, heedful, regardful.
- noun An observer.
- noun An obsequious or slavish attendant.
- noun One who is strict in observing or complying with a law, rule, custom, etc.
- noun [capitalized] Specifically, a member of the more rigorous class of Franciscans which in the fifteenth century became separated from those — the Conventuals — following a milder rule.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Taking notice; viewing or noticing attentively; watchful; carefully attentive.
- adjective Submissively attentive; obediently watchful; regardful; mindful; obedient (to); -- with
of , . - noun obsolete One who observes forms and rules.
- noun obsolete A sycophantic servant.
- noun (R. C. Ch.) An Observantine.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Alert andpaying close attention . - adjective
Diligently attentive inobserving alaw ,custom ,duty orprinciple .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception
- adjective (of individuals) adhering strictly to laws and rules and customs
- adjective paying close attention especially to details
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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I realize I am courting scorn by using the term observant but it works for me.
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The settlers were young couples raised in observant Jewish homes.
Israeli Settlements Keep Growing As Peace Talks Come And Go AP 2010
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The settlers were young couples raised in observant Jewish homes.
Israeli Settlements Keep Growing As Peace Talks Come And Go AP 2010
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As I say, I have no qualifications to determine whether someone can really be called a Catholic novelist, but speaking as an Orthodox Jew—for whom the word observant means “practicing,” by the way—whether a writer is observant is irrelevant to determining whether he is a Jewish writer.
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- thou shalt not lie with a man as thou would lie with a woman is generally interpreted as "it's ok to be a homosexual, but not to act on your feelings" in observant/orthodox circles
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It was well Mr. Carteret was not what his guest called observant, or he might have found a lower pitch in the sound of this sentence than in the sense.
The Tragic Muse Henry James 1879
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Thankfully my grandfather is the kind of observant person who notices that sort of thing, had he not, it could have been very bad.
what is your closest call to a bad experience while hunting? 2009
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Says Meyer, based on what he's seen from some people already cast for the show: These are not the kind of observant, distant, journalistic types you see on other shows.
Versus gives amateurs a platform for television sports talk 2009
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Thankfully my grandfather is the kind of observant person who notices that sort of thing, had he not, it could have been very bad.
what is your closest call to a bad experience while hunting? 2009
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The problem with lyrical realism is that it wants to be "observant" of reality (think of that most sought-after of compliments from a reviewer that the Author is Very Observant) but really what even the best of it achieves is not usually recognizable as "real."
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