watchful
adjective
, ˈwȯch-\
Definition of watchful
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Other Words from watchful
, ˈwȯch- \
adverb
Synonyms & Antonyms for watchful
Synonyms
alert, Argus-eyed, attentive, awake, observant, open-eyed, tenty (also tentie) [Scottish], vigilant, wide-awake
Antonyms
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Examples of watchful in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The world has had a chance to watch Charlotte grow up under the watchful eye of her parents. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Princess Diana Reportedly Always Wanted a Daughter," 26 Jan. 2019 Surgery reduced the risk of death caused by prostate cancer by about 45% versus watchful waiting, according to the study. — Peter Loftus, WSJ, "Surgery Adds Three Years to Lives of Prostate-Cancer Patients, Study Finds," 12 Dec. 2018 During the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, under the watchful, bespectacled gaze of an adult in a bunny costume, the president thanked his wife, Melania, for organizing the event. — Madeleine Aggeler, The Cut, "Donald Trump Struggles to Describe the White House," 2 Apr. 2018 For the first time ever, a police drone will keep a watchful eye on the New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York’s Times Square, as first reported by the Associated Press. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "New York City cops will fly a drone over the New Year’s Eve celebration at Times Square," 30 Dec. 2018 Day Two: The milk from those cows, having traveled to Beecher’s Handmade Cheese at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, turns into fresh cheese curds under the watchful eye of passersby gawking through the glass. — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, "Connected to the Craft," 3 Dec. 2018 For example, Atlanta’s airport pumps out 100 flights every hour as 103.9 million passengers move through the airport every year, all under the watchful eye of North America’s tallest air traffic control tower, standing nearly 400 feet high. — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, "This Visualization Shows Just How Busy the World's Biggest Airports Are," 20 Sep. 2018 Employers are keeping a watchful distance from Chris Hardwick after accusations of abuse were levied against the comedian and host last week by ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra. — Libby Hill, latimes.com, "The latest on Chris Hardwick abuse allegations, as networks step back from host," 18 June 2018 Their mother hovered behind, checking their progress, tossing compliments, keeping a watchful but respectful distance. — Monica Rhor, Houston Chronicle, "Girls tackle life, love and loss at Houston empowerment conference," 28 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'watchful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
6 Truly Terrible Definitions
6 Truly Terrible Definitions
“A domestic animal.”
Dictionary Entries near watchful
Statistics for watchful
Last Updated
1 Feb 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for watchful
The first known use of watchful was in the 15th century
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More Definitions for watchful
watchful
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of watchful
See the full definition for watchful in the English Language Learners Dictionary
watchful
adjective
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Kids Definition of watchful
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