Synonyms of watchful

watchful 1 of 2

adjective

ˈwäch-fəl 

as in alert

paying close attention usually for the purpose of anticipating approaching danger or opportunity

the toddler played under the watchful eye of her parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

• alert
• vigilant
• awake
• careful
• cautious
• attentive
• regardful
• aware
• observant
• wary
• wide-awake
• alive
• open-eyed
• on the alert
• sensitive
• conscious
• on the ball
• on the qui vive
• keen
• prepared
• mindful
• Argus-eyed
• on guard
• tentie
• cognizant
• heedful
• on tiptoe
• tenty
• wakeful
• observing
• on one's toes
• sleepless
• hypervigilant
• sharp-eyed
• chary
• ready
• hyperalert
• sharp

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• absent
• oblivious
• distracted
• asleep
• preoccupied
• unaware
• dreaming
• dreamy
• dazed
• unconscious
• sleeping
• absorbed
• engrossed
• unwitting
• careless
• insensible
• abstracted
• unknowing
• inattentive
• heedless
• unmindful
• absentminded
• unthinking
• unwary
• unprepared
• daydreaming
• faraway
• unheeding
• unready

watchfulness

2 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vigilance
• alertness
• watch
• alert
• attentiveness
• mindfulness
• red alert
• awareness
• consciousness
• sensitivity
• receptivity
• receptiveness
• wariness
• carefulness
• cautiousness
• aliveness
• qui vive
• readiness
• preparation
• heedfulness
• care
• chariness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abstraction
• absorption
• preoccupation
• absentmindedness
• distraction
• daze
• daydreaming
• engrossment
• obliviousness
• carelessness
• unconsciousness
• unawareness
• inattention
• heedlessness
• inattentiveness
• inobservance
• unwariness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of watchful

Adjective

Though the maneuver took place under the watchful gaze of ground control, the satellites aligned and maintained their relative positions, down to a single millimeter, autonomously. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 June 2025

In a twenty-year-old with no relevant history, the same finding is likely benign—watchful waiting may suffice. —Siddhartha Mukherjee, New Yorker, 16 June 2025

The cops keep turning up (an itchy Kim Dickens and the more watchful Bobby Naderi) and casting aspersions. —Nina Metz Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, 9 June 2025

The best way to learn and internalize this kind of skill is by going through a leadership program that delivers sequentially increasing levels of stress, with watchful management. —Leon E. Moores, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025