Observation
[ɒbzə'veɪʃ(ə)n] or [,ɑbzɚ'veʃən]
Definition
(noun.) the act of observing; taking a patient look.
(noun.) the act of making and recording a measurement.
(noun.) facts learned by observing; 'he reported his observations to the mayor'.
(noun.) a remark expressing careful consideration.
Edited by Kelsey--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act or the faculty of observing or taking notice; the act of seeing, or of fixing the mind upon, anything.
(n.) The result of an act, or of acts, of observing; view; reflection; conclusion; judgment.
(n.) Hence: An expression of an opinion or judgment upon what one has observed; a remark.
(n.) Performance of what is prescribed; adherence in practice; observance.
(n.) The act of recognizing and noting some fact or occurrence in nature, as an aurora, a corona, or the structure of an animal.
(n.) Specifically, the act of measuring, with suitable instruments, some magnitude, as the time of an occultation, with a clock; the right ascension of a star, with a transit instrument and clock; the sun's altitude, or the distance of the moon from a star, with a sextant; the temperature, with a thermometer, etc.
(n.) The information so acquired.
Editor: Moll
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Notice, attention.[2]. Remark, note, annotation, comment.
Inputed by Ethel
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Contemplation, study, remark, attention, notice, comment
ANT:Disregard, oversight, inadvertence, inattention, silence, ignorance
Inputed by Heinrich
Examples
- I had heard that very voice ere this, and compulsory observation had forced on me a theory as to what it boded. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- For his observation was constantly confirming Mr. Farebrother's assurance that the banker would not overlook opposition. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I say this here for two reasons--because I hope to avoid the critical attack of the genuine Marxian specialist, and because the observation is, I believe, relevant to our subject. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Darwin's father was remarkable for his powers of observation, while the grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, is well known for his tendency to speculation . Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Anselmo was happy now and he was very pleased that he had stayed there at the post of observation. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Your observation of the similitude between many of the words and those of the ancient world, are indeed very curious. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Tycho Brahe had a great reverence for Copernicus, but he did not accept his planetary system; and he fe lt that advance in astronomy depended on painstaking observation. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- En resume, L'OBSERVATION des animaux sauvages demontre deja la variabilite LIMITEE des especes. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Halloa being a general observation which I had usually observed to be best answered by itself, I said, Halloa! Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- But Jane was to go home with her, and at Longbourn there would be leisure enough for observation. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Besides those which are of common observation it is used for lighting the interior of mines, caves, and the dark apartments of ships, and does not foul the air. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In the following year observation of work in a brewery roused his curi osity in reference to carbonic acid. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Then followed the famous observation of the swinging lamp by the then young Galileo, about 1582, while lounging in the cathedral of Pisa. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The picture of a different state of things does not always function to aid ingenious observation and recollection to find a way out and on. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- It was a profound observation when Bernard Shaw said that men dread liberty because of the bewildering responsibility it imposes and the uncommon alertness it demands. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The professor made me great acknowledgments for communicating these observations, and promised to make honourable mention of me in his treatise. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Our conscious thoughts, observations, wishes, aversions are important, because they represent inchoate, nascent activities. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- It's my duty to inform you that any observations you may make will be liable to be used against you. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- A few commonplace observations will help to explain its action. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- But certainly she had made deep observations while she noted in silence the changes that passed around her. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Your observations on what you have lately read concerning insects is very just and solid. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Space permits the submission of but a few observations and suggestions on these points:---- _Necessity_ is still the mother of inventions, but not of all of them. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- At the Cape Verde Islands he made some interesting observations of a white calcareous stratum which ran for miles along the coast at a height of a) bout forty-five feet above the water. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- That is one of Mr. Steffens's most acute observations. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- They are to guide and organize further observations, recollections, and experiments. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The elder De Candolle has made nearly similar observations on the general nature of the affinities of distinct families of plants. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Let us now join these three observations, and see what conclusion we can draw from them. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- When Lalande's records in Paris were studied, it was found that he had made two observations of Neptune on May 8 and 10. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- He was gifted with an imagination to tur n observations to account. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Sir William Herschel's observations, extended over many years, confirmed both the nebular hypothesis and the theory of the systemat ic arrangement of the stars. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Checked by Bernadette