WATCHFULNESS Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

watchfulness

noun

Definition of watchfulness

as in vigilance

the state of being constantly attentive and responsive to signs of opportunity, activity, or danger it was only her motherly watchfulness that saved the boy from an accident

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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 watchfulness For now, the consensus among Wall Street’s economists is less alarm than watchfulness. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 But the book’s ruminative watchfulness is unsuccessfully conjugated in this overly sedate play with music, which has the feel of a song cycle, though sung by the fine cast with gorgeous, lonely sorrow. — Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 19 June 2026 Hong Kong icon Tony Leung has channeled brooding urban energy for the masterpieces of Wong Kar-Wai, balancing the debonair ennui of Marcello Mastroianni with the quiet watchfulness of Montgomery Clift. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 8 May 2026 In nine short, potent chapters, Beckerman lays out the essential traits of an effective dissident — loyalty, recklessness and watchfulness, among them — to illustrate how communities of resistance are built from the ground up. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026 A lot of this involves watchfulness—noticing what the preferring mind (that is, the editing mind) as put in place, and accepting it, and building upon it. — Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026 With calm resolve, the United States and the European Union have each made decisions in recent days showing a firm watchfulness against big-power aggression. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2025 This patience is watchfulness, not idleness. — Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for watchfulness

Noun

Nurses form the essential backbone of post-neurosurgery ICU care, providing continuous vigilance and skilled bedside assessment after complex spine and cranial procedures.

— Richard Menger MD MPA, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Officials across the islands are opening shelters, canceling events and urging vigilance as Lala’s impacts spread toward Maui, Oahu and Kauai, a region still scarred by recent floods.

— Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of vigilance

Noun

To achieve this, the locus coeruleus continuously alternates between tonic activity—governing baseline arousal and alertness—and brief phasic bursts that focus attention on critical events.

— Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
During the campaign, candidates are in a state of constant alertness.

— Max Taves, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of alertness

Noun

There is no additional preseason game check added because one player takes 50 snaps while a starter watches from the sideline.

— Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
The watch is for Northern Craven, Southern Craven and Inland Onslow as well as Pitt, Greene, Beaufort, Duplin, Lenoir, Jones and Pamlico counties.

— NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of watch

Noun

Already, thousands of users have downloaded the iPhone app, with some eagerly submitting feedback that has helped improve key functionality, including the ability to detect AI glasses and receive alerts when the app is closed.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2026
There was one element of the patient’s history that had kept the doctors on high alert.

— Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of alert

Noun

The opening up to the friendship with Renata, the attentiveness with Luis, and not being set on killing Negan are monumental changes for her.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Aug. 2026
Thanks to the controller’s attentiveness, a possible mid-air collision may have been prevented, especially if the pilots operating the individual planes thought the controller was giving them the same flight instructions.

— Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of attentiveness

Browse Nearby Words

watchful

watchfulness

watching

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“Watchfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watchfulness. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of watchfulness

noun

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