observation

[ob-zur-vey-shuh n] /ˌɒb zɜrˈveɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
2.
an act or instance of regarding attentively or watching.
3.
the faculty or habit of observing or noticing.
4.
notice:
to escape a person's observation.
5.
an act or instance of viewing or noting a fact or occurrence for some scientific or other special purpose:
the observation of blood pressure under stress.
6.
the information or record secured by such an act.
7.
something that is learned in the course of observing things:
My observation is that such clouds mean a storm.
8.
a remark, comment, or statement based on what one has noticed or observed.
9.
the condition of being observed.
10.
Navigation.
  1. the measurement of the altitude or azimuth of a heavenly body for navigational purposes.
  2. the information obtained by such a measurement.
11.
Obsolete. observance, as of the law.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin observātiōn- (stem of observātiō), equivalent to observāt(us) (past participle of observāre to observe) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
nonobservation, noun
preobservation, noun
reobservation, noun
self-observation, noun
Can be confused
observance, observation.
Synonyms
3. attention. 8. pronouncement, opinion. See remark.
Examples from the web for observation
  • He wanted to see what would happen, what observation would grow out of that strange planting.
  • They were, rather, the product of rigorous observation and of years of trial and error.
  • Kahlo apparently recognized the truth of this observation and resigned herself to the situation.
  • Writers draw on personal observation, and their work tends to be informed heavily by place.
  • Thanks for the advice, especially the observation about people going on the market more than once.
  • In my observation, younger guys grow beards to look older and more mature.
  • How long are each observation in the data sample holding their particular jobs.
  • In part, this observation may rest on cultural differences.
  • He gives himself over not to mourning but to building a new, grounded life from many individual acts of observation and judgment.
  • On closer observation, he noticed that it had a trunk.
British Dictionary definitions for observation

observation

/ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃən/
noun
1.
the act of observing or the state of being observed
2.
a comment or remark
3.
detailed examination of phenomena prior to analysis, diagnosis, or interpretation: the patient was under observation
4.
the facts learned from observing
5.
an obsolete word for observance
6.
(nautical)
  1. a sight taken with an instrument to determine the position of an observer relative to that of a given heavenly body
  2. the data so taken
Derived Forms
observational, adjective
observationally, adverb
Word Origin and History for observation
n.

late 14c., "performance of a religious rite," from Latin observationem (nominative observatio) "a watching over, observance, investigation," noun of action from past participle stem of observare (see observe). Sense of "act or fact of paying attention" is from 1550s. Meaning "a remark in reference to something observed" first recorded 1590s.