Synonyms of minding

minding

verb

present participle of mind

1

as in listening

to pay attention especially through the act of hearing

you'll be in big trouble if you don't straighten up and mind

Synonyms & Similar Words

• listening
• hearing
• heeding
• harking
• attending
• hearkening
• harkening
• pricking up one's ears

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• disregarding
• discounting
• tuning out

2

as in remembering

chiefly dialect to bring back to mind

I seem to mind such a tale from way back

Synonyms & Similar Words

• remembering
• recalling
• recollecting
• reproducing
• thinking (of)
• reminding
• reminiscing (about)
• harking back (to)
• extracting
• flashing back (to)
• harkening back (to)
• hearkening back (to)
• eliciting
• recurring
• evoking
• recapturing
• raising
• representing
• reliving
• educing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• forgetting
• ignoring
• neglecting
• disregarding
• overlooking
• missing
• losing
• unlearning
• disremembering
• misremembering
• blanking (out)

3

as in obeying

to act according to the commands of

tell the children to mind the babysitter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obeying
• following
• observing
• complying (with)
• conforming (to)
• adhering (to)
• keeping to
• abiding by
• falling in with
• watching
• goose-stepping (to)
• submitting (to)
• noticing
• regarding
• yielding (to)
• deferring (to)
• surrendering (to)
• agreeing (to)
• taking
• attending
• hearing
• heeding
• noting
• assenting (to)
• marking
• listening (to)
• acceding (to)
• acquiescing (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• disobeying
• defying
• leading
• refusing
• directing
• ignoring
• rebelling (against)
• challenging
• daring
• disregarding
• renouncing
• overlooking
• repudiating
• violating
• dismissing
• disobliging
• breaking
• passing over
• breaching
• brushing (off)
• winking (at)
• flouting
• transgressing
• infringing
• scorning
• mocking
• tuning out
• deriding
• fighting
• opposing
• contesting
• resisting
• disputing
• bucking
• shrugging off
• withstanding
• combating
• overpassing
• scoffing (at)
• revolting (against)
• pooh-poohing
• mutinying (against)

4

as in noticing

to be cautious of or on guard against

mind the slippery steps

Synonyms & Similar Words

• noticing
• watching
• seeing
• guarding (against)
• looking out (for)
• watching out (for)
• attending
• noting
• observing
• marking
• perceiving
• waring
• heeding
• keeping one's eyes open for
• being on the lookout for
• beholding
• discerning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• missing
• overlooking
• disregarding
• discounting

5

as in watching

to have an interest or concern for

don't mind him; he's always complaining

Synonyms & Similar Words

• watching
• caring
• looking out (for)
• noticing
• regarding
• attending
• observing
• heeding
• noting
• feeling (for)
• sympathizing (with)
• empathizing (with)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• overlooking
• disregarding

6

as in supervising

to take charge of especially on behalf of another

the salesperson will mind the store while the manager goes out to lunch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• watching
• supervising
• overseeing
• managing
• tending
• attending
• guarding
• protecting
• operating
• controlling
• superintending
• conducting
• running
• looking after
• regulating
• seeing to
• governing
• guiding
• caring (for)
• taking care of
• directing
• patrolling
• seeing after
• safeguarding
• administrating
• shielding
• presiding (over)
• stewarding
• shepherding
• chaperoning
• babying
• babysitting
• mothering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• forgetting
• neglecting
• abandoning
• disregarding
• passing over

7

as in noting

to take notice of and be guided by

mind the instructions that appear at the top of the first page of the exam

Synonyms & Similar Words

• noting
• following
• obeying
• observing
• respecting
• regarding
• watching
• listening (to)
• considering
• heeding
• contemplating
• keeping
• pondering
• weighing
• noticing
• mulling
• hearing
• seeing
• conforming (to)
• complying (with)
• attending (to)
• marking
• harking (to)
• hearkening (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• disregarding
• neglecting
• dismissing
• scorning
• discounting
• tuning out
• brushing (aside or off)
• passing over
• flouting
• glossing (over)
• defying
• shrugging off
• glozing (over)
• slighting
• pooh-poohing
• snubbing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of minding

Goodwin, a tattooed fifty-four-year-old with a doctorate in business philosophy, was minding a roomful of young children when the wind and rain grew more intense. —Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026

Darwin is an octopus who’s minding his own business when he’s suddenly ripped out of the ocean and thrown into a junkyard. —ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026

After all, Kay had spent her girlhood minding a growing brood of siblings in a series of small Chinatown apartments with a father whose income could not always sustain a family in much comfort. —Charlotte Brooks, Big Think, 13 Mar. 2026

One person refuses to bow — not an army, not a revolution, one stubborn Jew minding his own business — and Haman cannot function. —Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2026

Don Lemon – Just earlier this month, the good brother Don was minding his Black business covering an ICE protest when Nicki’s idle fingers started insulting the broadcast journalist on social media. —Bridgette Bartlett Royall, Essence, 30 Jan. 2026

Especially Gina, who honestly was just minding her business, hanging out with her boyfriend’s daughter, and winds up getting accused of incompetence by her own boyfriend. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2026

With Giammetti minding the books, Valentino was free to indulge his creative impulses. —Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 19 Jan. 2026

Annabelle was minding her business when the internet turned on her. —Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 27 Dec. 2025