noticing

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of notice.

   Noticing the change in his tone, she paused before replying.

   He has a habit of noticing details that everyone else overlooks.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every use of the verb notice, not just the everyday "becoming aware of." It once meant remarking upon something, now archaic, and treating someone with favor, now obsolete. An intransitive use, meaning to be noticeable, takes no object at all. After be it forms progressives. Unlike the countable noun, it takes its object directly, with no of.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act of becoming aware of something or giving it your attention.

   Her noticing of the discrepancy prompted a full review of the accounts.

   The noticing of subtle shifts in mood is central to good caregiving.

   Similarobservation

   Note

   A countable noun, unlike the verb form it shares a spelling with: it takes a plural, noticings, and each one is a single act of attention. Susan Cerulean's Tracking Desire (2005) calls hers "simple, crude noticings," the raw beginnings of augury. Its object follows of (her noticing of the discrepancy), whereas the gerund takes it directly (noticing the change). Observation is the plainer synonym.

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