Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Observant |
ObservantAdjective1. Paying close attention especially to details. 2. Quick to notice; showing quick and keen perception. 3. (of individuals) adhering strictly to laws and rules and customs; "law-abiding citizens"; "observant of the speed limit". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "observant" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Synonyms: ObservantSynonyms: law-abiding (adj), observing (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Attention | Adjective: attentive, mindful, observant, regardful; alive to, awake to; observing; Verb: alert, open-eyed; intent on, taken up with, occupied with, engaged in; engrossed in, wrapped in, absorbed, rapt, transfixed, riveted, mesmerized, hypnotized; glued to (the TV); breathless; preoccupied; (inattentive); watchful; (careful); breathless, undistracted, upon the stretch; on the watch; (expectant). |
Clergy | Cenobite, conventual, abbot, prior, monk, friar, lay brother, beadsman, mendicant, pilgrim, palmer; canon regular, canon secular; Franciscan, Friars minor, Minorites; Observant, Capuchin, Dominican, Carmelite; Augustinian; Gilbertine; Austin Friars, Black Friars, White Friars, Gray Friars, Crossed Friars, Crutched Friars; Bonhomme, Carthusian, Benedictine, Cistercian, Trappist, Cluniac, Premonstatensian, Maturine; Templar, Hospitaler; Bernardine, Lorettine, pillarist, stylite. |
Observance | Adjective: observant, faithful, true, loyal; honorable; true as the dial to the sun, true as the needle to the pole; punctual, punctilious; literal; (exact); as good as one's word. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Observant |
| English words defined with "observant": alert, argus-eyed, attentiveness ♦ Inobservant ♦ observantly, observingly, open-eyed ♦ To watch over ♦ vigilant ♦ wakeful, watchful. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "observant": Observance. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Observant" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (observing), Latin (heed, observe, watch), Swedish (observant, wide awake). |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
V. S. Pritchett | The Canadian spirit is cautious, observant and critical where the American is assertive. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | Be observant of him. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Father, polite and observant. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Sobel J, Cameron D, Ismail J, et al. A prolonged outbreak of Shigella sonnei infections in traditionally observant Jewish communities in North America caused by a molecularly distinct bacterial subtype. (references) | |
Economic History | Honduras | Such investors, or their attorneys, should check property titles not only with the property registry office having jurisdiction in the area in which the property is located (being especially observant of marginal annotations on the deed and that the property is located within the area covered by the original title), but also with the National Agrarian Institute (INA) and the National Forestry Administration (COHDEFOR). (references) |
Travel | Mexico | It is best to be observant and flexible, and to take cues from the Mexicans around you. (references) |
Saudi Arabia | Customs and manners differ, so be observant and adapt your behavior to that of your host. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Martha Stewart | Well, I've always been observant and I always see things sort of before other people see them. So, that's just my nature. I'm always looking around, and watching, and observing. So I don't find myself doing it anymore than I used to. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Observant" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 95.40% of the time. "Observant" is used about 87 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 95.4% | 83 | 36,350 |
| Noun (singular) | 4.6% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 87 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "observant": be observant ♦ be observant of ♦ be very observant of forms ♦ non observant ♦ observant boy ♦ observant mind ♦ observant of ♦ observant of customs. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "observant": ever-observant, super-observant, torah-observant. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
observant | 9 |
observant torah | 5 |
certainly jew many observant pious | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "observant"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | vëzhgues (monitor, spotter, watcher), i vëmendshëm (attentive, careful, considerate, heedful, regardful), i kujdesshëm (accurate, attentive, canny, careful, cautious, chary, circumspect, circumspective, conservative, considerate, deliberate, diligent, forethoughtful, forward-looking, grandmotherly, guarded, heedful, monitorial, precise, thoughtful, up and coming, wary). (various references) | |
Arabic | يقظ (alert, awake, awoke, careful, circumspect, jaunty, lively, mindful, napless, on duty, open-eyed, prompt, springy, vigilant, wakeful, wary, watchful, wide awake), مكترث (attentive, heedful), منتبه (advertent, attentive, careful, heedful, mindful), سريع الملاحظة, شديد الإنتباه. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | наблюдателен (observation, observational, penetrating, unwinking, watchful), бдителен (alert, awake, hawk-eyed, jealous, open-eyed, unsleeping, unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, waking, wary, watchful, wide awake). (various references) | |
Chinese | 敏" (Acuity, Acumen, keen, shrewd). (various references) | |
Czech | všímavý, pozorný (attentive, civil, considerate, courteous, heedful, intent, observing, regardful, thoughtful). (various references) | |
Farsi | مراقب (Lookout, Observer, Onlooker, Vigilant, Watcher, Watchful, Watchman), مراعات کننده , هوشیار (Alert, Astute, Cautious, Conscious, Sober, Vigilant). (various references) | |
Finnish | tarkkaavainen (attentive, heedful, watchful). (various references) | |
French | observateur (observer, observing). (various references) | |
German | achtsam (attentive, careful, heedful, mindful, observantly, regardful), abwartend (temporizing, waiting). (various references) | |
Greek | παρατηρητικόσ (discerning, observational, observing), φυλάσσων, τηρών (abiding). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתבו ן (observer, watcher), מבחין (diacritic, discerning, judicial), שומר מצוות, שם לב (heedful), קפ"ן (careful, martinet, pedant, pernickety, prissy, stickler, strict), א"וק (devout, godly, orthodox, pious, religious). (various references) | |
Hungarian | figyelmes (attentive, be observant, considerate, mindful, observing, open-eyed, thoughtful), megfigyelő (lookout, monitoring, observer, observing, to be on the lookout), engedelmes (biddable, conformable, deferential, dutiful, manageable, mindful, obedient, submissive, subservient, tame). (various references) | |
Italian | osservante (practising). (various references) | |
Manx | tastagh (acute, acute keen-witted, considerate, discerning, keen, keen of mind, knowing, perceptive, percipient, politic, sagacious, vigilant), currit da cooilleeiney, baghtagh (observable, perceivable, tabloid). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | observantay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | observador (close, eyewitness, scout, scrutator, spectator, watcher), obediente (conformable, duteous, dutiful, governable, obedient, obsequious, submissive, yielding), vigilante (acock, argus-eyed, awake, hawk-eyed, on the alert, open-eyed, pop-eyed, unsleeping, unwinking, vigilant, wakeful, waking, watchful), cumpridor (obsequious, pious, punctilious, responsible), atento (argus-eyed, attentive, careful, hawk-eyed, intent, mindful, regardful, wary, watchful). (various references) | |
Romanian | reverenţios (ceremonious), respectuos (deferent, deferential, dutiful, dutifully, respectful, respectfully, reverent), bun observator, atent (advertent, alert, amiable, attentive, attentively, careful, carefully, close, closely, complaisant, considerate, courteous, curious, deliberately, delicate, heedful, intent, jealous, listening, mindfully, nice, observantly, painstaking, regardful, searching, tender, watchful). (various references) | |
Russian | наблюдательный (observational, supervisory). (various references) | |
Scottish | aireachail (watchful). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | koji se pridržava, koji ima mogućnost opažanja. (various references) | |
Spanish | observante, observador (observer, onlooker, regardant, scout, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted, spotter), vigilante (alert, caretaker, keeper, overlooker, Proctor, superintendent, unsleeping, vigilant, wakeful, watchful), perspicaz (acute, astute, clear-sighted, discerning, discriminating, judicious, keen, penetrating, perceptive, perceptual, percipient, perspicacious, quick-sighted, sharp, sharp witted, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shrewd, subtle), guardador (Guardian, keeper, observer, protective, stingy, stingy person). (various references) | |
Swedish | uppmärksam (all eyes, attentive, aware, heedful, mindful, regardful, watchful). (various references) | |
Thai | ช่างสังเกต (keen). (various references) | |
Turkish | uyan (coincident, correspondent, corresponding, in harmony, pertaining to, regardful, suitable), riayet eden (regardful, respectful), itaatkâr (compliant, conformable, obedient, submissive), dikkat eden, bağlı (adherent, adhesive, affiliated, amenable, appurtenant, attached, banded, bonded, bound, cohesive, conditional, conjoint, connected, consequent, corded, dependant, dependent, devoted, faithful, germane, hooked, incidental, laced, related, subject, subject to, subordinate, tied, under). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | уважний (attent, attentive, careful, considerate, heedful, mindful, nice, observative, observing, ponderate, thoughtful, watchful), спостережливий (inspective, observational, observative, observing, regardant, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted), ретельний (affectionate, assiduous, careful, diligent, dutiful, elaborate, meticulous, narrow, nice, prompt, rigorous, severe, thorough), законопослушний (law abiding). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tinh mắt (eagle-eyed, quick-eyed, quick-sighted, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted), hay quan sát (observing). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "observant": observantly, observants. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "observant": inobservant, nonobservant, unobservant. (additional references) | |
| |
"Observant" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: observa, observantia, observat, Osservanti. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "observant" (pronounced ubzer"vunt) |
| 5 | -er" v u n t | fervent, servant. |
| 4 | -v u n t | convent, insolvent, irrelevant, relevant, solvent. |
| 3 | -u n t | agent, aggrandizement, agreement, ailment, alignment, allotment, amazement, ambient, ambivalent, amendment, amusement, ancient, announcement, annulment, antecedent, antidepressant, antigovernment, antioxidant, apartment, apparent, appeasement, applicant, appointment, apportionment, ardent, argent, argument, armament, arraignment, arrangement, arrant, arrogant, absent, absorbent, abstinent, abundant, accelerant, accident, accompaniment, accomplishment, abandonment, abatement, aberrant, abhorrent, abortifacient, accountant, accouterment, achievement, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, adamant, adherent, adjacent, adjournment, adjustment, adjutant, adolescent, adornment, advancement, advertisement, advisement, afferent, affiant, affluent, ascendant, aspirant, assailant, assessment, assignment, assistant, assortment, astonishment, astringent, atonement, attachment, attainment, attendant, banishment, basement, battlement, belligerent, bemusement, beneficent, benevolent, bereavement, betterment, bewilderment, blandishment, blatant, bombardment, brilliant, buoyant, celebrant, claimant, clairvoyant, Clement, client, coefficient, cogent, cognizant, coherent, coincident, combatant, commandment, commencement, commitment, compartment, competent, complacent, complainant, complaisant, complement, compliant, component, comportment, concealment, concomitant, concurrent, condiment, confident, confinement, confluent, consequent, consignment, consistent, consonant, constant, constituent, consultant, containment, contaminant, contentment, contestant, continent, contingent, convalescent, convenient, convergent, conversant, coolant, copayment, corespondent, cormorant, correspondent, Courant, covenant, Crescent, crosscurrent, current, curtailment, ignorant, immanent, immigrant, imminent, impairment, impatient, impeachment, impediment, impertinent, implement, important, impotent, impoundment, impoverishment, impressment, imprisonment, improvement, imprudent, inadvertent, incandescent, debarment, debasement, decadent, decedent, decent, declarant, decongestant, defendant, deferment, defiant, deficient, defoliant, delinquent, deodorant, department, dependent, deployment, deportment, depressant, derailment, descendant, descendent, despondent, detachment, detergent, determent, determinant, deterrent, detriment, development, deviant, different, diligent, diminishment, disagreement, disappointment, disarmament, disbarment, disbursement, discernment, discordant, discouragement, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, disestablishment, disgruntlement, disillusionment, disinfectant, disinvestment, dismantlement, dismemberment, disobedient, dispersant, displacement, dissident, dissonant, distant, divalent, divergent, divestment, docent, dominant, dormant, easement, ebullient, efferent, effervescent, efficient, effluent, elegant, element, elephant, eloquent, embankment, embarrassment, embayment, embellishment, embezzlement, embodiment, emergent, emigrant, eminent, emplacement, employment, empowerment, enactment, encampment, enchantment, encirclement, encouragement, encroachment, endangerment, endearment, endorsement, endowment, enforcement, engagement, enhancement, enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enlistment, enrichment, enrollment, enslavement, entanglement, entertainment, enticement, entitlement, entombment, entrant, entrapment, entrenchment, environment, equipment, equivalent, errant, escapement, escarpment, esculent, establishment, estrangement, evanescent, evident, excellent, excitement, excrement, exigent, existent, exorbitant, expectant, expectorant, expedient, experiment, exponent, extant, extinguishment, extravagant, exuberant, exultant, Fabricant, figment, filament, flagrant, flamboyant, flatulent, flippant, fluent, fluorescent, formant, fragment, fragrant, fraudulent, frequent, fulfillment, gallant, garment, garnishment, giant, government, grandiloquent, grandparent, harassment, hesitant, hydrant, incessant, incident, incipient, incitement, inclement, incoherent, incompetent, inconsistent, incontinent, inconvenient, increment, incumbent, indecent, independent, indictment, indifferent, indigent, indignant, indolent, inducement, indulgent, inefficient, infant, informant, infotainment, infrequent, infringement, ingredient, inhabitant, inhalant, inherent, innocent, inpatient, insignificant, insistent, insolent, installment, instant, instrument, insufficient, insurgent, integument, intelligent, intercurrent, interdependent, intermittent, internment, intersegment, intolerant, intransigent, invariant, investment, involvement, iridescent, irreverent, irritant, itinerant, jubilant, judgement, judgment, latent, leant, lenient, lieutenant, ligament, litigant, lubricant, lucent, luminescent, luxuriant, magnificent, malevolent, malignant, maltreatment, management, measurement, merchant, micromanagement, migrant, militant, miscreant, misgovernment, misjudgment, mismanagement, misstatement, mistreatment, moment, monovalent, monument, mordant, movement, mutant, nascent, negligent, noncombatant, nonexistent, nongovernment, nonmanagement, nonpayment, nonresident, nonviolent, nourishment, nutrient, obedient, obsolescent, occupant, odorant, ointment, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, operant, opponent, opulent, ornament, orpiment, outpatient, outplacement, overconfident, overpayment, overstatement, oxidant, pageant, parchment, parent, parliament, participant, patent, patient, pavement, payment, peasant, penchant, pendant, penitent, pennant, percipient, permanent, persistent, pertinent, petulant, pheasant, pigment, piquant, placement, pleasant, pliant, poignant, pollutant, postponement, postretirement, potent, preadolescent, precedent, predicament, predominant, preeminent, pregnant, prejudgment, prepayment, prescient, present, presentment, prevalent, procurement, proficient, prominent, pronouncement, propellant, proponent, protestant, provident, prudent, prurient, pungent, punishment, pursuant, puzzlement, quadrant, quiescent, quotient, radiant, rampant, readjustment, reagent, realignment, reappointment, reapportionment, rearmament, rearrangement, reassessment, reassignment, recalcitrant, recent, recipient, recombinant, recruitment, recurrent, redeployment, redevelopment, redundant, reemployment, reenactment, refinement, refreshment, refrigerant, refurbishment, Regent, regiment, registrant, reimbursement, reinforcement, reinstatement, reinvestment, reliant, reluctant, reminiscent, remnant, repayment, repellent, repentant, replacement, replenishment, repugnant, requirement, resentment, resettlement, resident, resilient, resistant, resonant, resplendent, respondent, restatement, resultant, resurgent, retardant, reticent, retirement, retrenchment, reverent, rodent, rudiment, ruminant, sacrament, salient, seafront, sealant, sediment, segment, semipermanent, sentiment, Sequent, sergeant, serpent, settlement, shipment, significant, silent, somnolent, stagnant, statement, stimulant, strident, stringent, student, subcontinent, subsequent, subservient, succulent, sufficient, supergiant, superintendent, supplement, supplicant, suppressant, surfactant, talent, tangent, temperament, tenant, tenement, testament, tetravalent, tolerant, torrent, tournament, transcendent, transient, translucent, transparent, treatment, trenchant, trident, triumphant, truant, truculent, tumescent, turbulent, tyrant, undercurrent, underdevelopment, underemployment, undergarment, underpayment, understatement, unemployment, unimportant, unpleasant, unrepentant, urgent, vacant, vagrant, valiant, variant, vehement, verdant, vibrant, vigilant, violent, virulent, warrant, wonderment. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: bevatrons. | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-n-o-r-s-t-v" | |
-1 letter: baronets, bevatron. | |
-2 letters: atoners, banters, baronet, boaster, boaters, boranes, borates, bravest, bravoes, obverts, rebatos, reboant, senator, servant, sorbate, sorbent, taverns, treason, versant. | |
-3 letters: aborts, aboves, absent, antres, arseno, astern, atoner, atones, averts, avoset, banter, barest, barons, baster, batons, beanos, betons, bevors, boarts, boater, boners, borane, borate, brants, braves, bravos, breast, brents, nestor, noters. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-n-o-r-s-t-v" | |
+1 letter: observants. | |
+2 letters: inobservant, observantly, observation, unobservant. | |
+3 letters: abortiveness, nonobservant, observations. | |
+4 letters: abbreviations, nonabsorptive, observational, subordinative, subventionary, vibrationless. | |
+5 letters: abortivenesses, antisubversion, interbehaviors, overbreathings, reverberations, verbalizations, verbigerations. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Quotations: Familiar 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Quotations: Spoken | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
