# observation

Pronunciation: US say "ob-zur-VAY-shuhn" /ˌɑbzɚˈveɪʃn̩/; UK say "ob-zuh-VAY-shuhn" /ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃn̩/

## Noun

1. The act of watching something or someone closely, or the condition of being watched.
   - Simple: The act of watching something carefully, or the state of being watched.
   - _Through careful observation, the naturalist learned the migration patterns of each flock._
   - _Knowing they were under observation, the suspects behaved cautiously._
2. The act of noting and recording an event, or the record produced by doing so.
   - Simple: The act of noticing and writing down something that happens, or the note you make.
   - _The astronomer logged each observation in a detailed notebook._
   - _Their field observations spanned three breeding seasons._
3. A remark or comment, typically one prompted by something the speaker has noticed.
   - Simple: A short remark or comment about something you notice.
   - _He prefaced his observation with an apology for interrupting._
   - _Her closing observation reframed the entire debate._
4. A judgment or conclusion formed on the basis of what one has observed.
   - Simple: An opinion or conclusion you reach after watching or studying something.
   - _Her observation that the medication reduced symptoms guided further trials._
   - _The report's central observation was that traffic eased after the new lights._
5. An arrangement under which a person or thing is watched continuously or at regular intervals.
   - Simple: A period when doctors or others keep watching a person closely.
   - _After surgery, she remained under observation in the recovery ward._
   - _The suspect's apartment was placed under round-the-clock observation._
6. A single recorded value of a random variable, as actually obtained in a trial or measurement.
   - Simple: A single value that you actually get from a random process.
   - _Each observation in the dataset corresponds to one measured outcome._
   - _The model was fit to several thousand observations._
7. The carrying out of what is prescribed; faithful adherence to a rule, rite, or custom in practice.
   - Simple: The act of following a rule, custom, or duty as it should be done.
   - _Strict observation of the treaty's terms kept the peace for decades._
   - _The community's observation of the holy days followed centuries-old practice._

## Origin

It came from Middle English observacion, borrowed from Middle French observacion, with later borrowing from French observation and from Latin observātiō(n-). It can also be analyzed as "observe" plus the suffix "-ation".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/observation (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).