OBSERVINGLY Synonyms: 454 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'observe' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of observe are celebrate , commemorate , and keep . While all these words mean "to notice or honor a day, occasion, or deed," observe suggests marking the occasion by ceremonious performance. // not all holidays are observed nationally

Q: When is 'celebrate' a more appropriate choice than 'observe'?

The meanings of celebrate and observe largely overlap; however, celebrate suggests acknowledging an occasion by festivity. // traditionally celebrates Thanksgiving with a huge dinner

Q: When is it sensible to use 'commemorate' instead of 'observe'?

Although the words commemorate and observe have much in common, commemorate suggests that an occasion is marked by observances that remind one of the origin and significance of the event. // commemorate Memorial Day with the laying of wreaths

Q: When could 'keep' be used to replace 'observe'?

While the synonyms keep and observe are close in meaning, keep stresses the idea of not neglecting or violating. // kept the Sabbath by refraining from work

observe 1 of 4

verb (1)

əb-ˈzərv

Definition of observe

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

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

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

blink
wink

as in to reflect

to make a statement of one's opinion "I think you might be mistaken," he observed

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

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

observing

2 of 4

adjective

as in participating

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in aware

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

observing

3 of 4

noun

as in observation

Related Words

observing

4 of 4

verb (2)

present participle of observe

as in obeying

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in celebrating

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

as in watching

to keep one's eyes on happily spent many hours observing the birds at the backyard feeder

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in reflecting

to make a statement of one's opinion "I think you might be mistaken," he observed

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in noticing

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

as in following

to take notice of and be guided by generally observes the suggestions of the experts regarding baby care

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word observe different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of observe are celebrate, commemorate, and keep. While all these words mean "to notice or honor a day, occasion, or deed," observe suggests marking the occasion by ceremonious performance.

not all holidays are observed nationally

When is celebrate a more appropriate choice than observe?

The meanings of celebrate and observe largely overlap; however, celebrate suggests acknowledging an occasion by festivity.

traditionally celebrates Thanksgiving with a huge dinner

When is it sensible to use commemorate instead of observe?

Although the words commemorate and observe have much in common, commemorate suggests that an occasion is marked by observances that remind one of the origin and significance of the event.

commemorate Memorial Day with the laying of wreaths

When could keep be used to replace observe?

While the synonyms keep and observe are close in meaning, keep stresses the idea of not neglecting or violating.

kept the Sabbath by refraining from work

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

Verb

At a hearing on June 24 observed by The Times, 14 immigrants didn’t make their appointment, and were ordered removable by the end of the day. — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 On this recent summer Sunday, Tania Santiago Perez is sitting poolside, observing the Swim Buddies lessons. — Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 1 July 2026

Noun

For an even more enhanced observing experience, find a dark environment away from bright lights to attend the total eclipse show. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026 In fact, during the first period of the fourth observing run (known as O4A), LIGO saw more gravitational wave events than from all previous observing runs combined. — Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 17 Sep. 2025

Verb

There’s a book called Meihua Yishu (Plum Blossom Divination) that describes how to predict events for the next day by observing plum blossoms. — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026 The Sheriff’s Office marked the deputy’s death on the 50th anniversary of the incident, observing a moment of silence during roll call on all patrol shifts. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 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.

— Reuters, NBC news, 3 July 2026
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.

— Meghan O’Gieblyn, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Definition of obey

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.

— Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
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.

— Jon Haworth, ABC News, 5 July 2026

Definition of celebrate

Verb

Court documents say witnesses noticed Lopez acting strangely before the attack.

— Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
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.

— Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026

Definition of notice

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.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 2 July 2026
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.

— Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 2 July 2026

Definition of commemorate

Verb

However, the finale shows Oreana eyeing the positive results of a pregnancy test before asking Carter to run away together and start over.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026
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.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

Definition of eye

Browse Nearby Words

observatory

observe

observed

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Observe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/observe. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of observe

verb (1)

adjective

noun

verb (2)

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on observe

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes