| observe | | |
| v. (perception) | 1. detect, discover, find, notice, observe | discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of.; "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint" |
| ~ catch out, find out | trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act.; "He was caught out"; "She was found out when she tried to cash the stolen checks" |
| ~ discover, find | make a discovery, make a new finding.; "Roentgen discovered X-rays"; "Physicists believe they found a new elementary particle" |
| ~ sense | detect some circumstance or entity automatically.; "This robot can sense the presence of people in the room"; "particle detectors sense ionization" |
| ~ instantiate | find an instance of (a word or particular usage of a word).; "The linguists could not instantiate this sense of the noun that he claimed existed in a certain dialect" |
| ~ trace | discover traces of.; "She traced the circumstances of her birth" |
| ~ see | observe as if with an eye.; "The camera saw the burglary and recorded it" |
| ~ sight, spy | catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes.; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge" |
| v. (communication) | 2. mention, note, observe, remark | make mention of.; "She observed that his presentation took up too much time"; "They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing" |
| ~ say, state, tell | express in words.; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name" |
| ~ comment, point out, remark, notice | make or write a comment on.; "he commented the paper of his colleague" |
| v. (perception) | 3. note, observe, take note | observe with care or pay close attention to.; "Take note of this chemical reaction" |
| ~ perceive, comprehend | to become aware of through the senses.; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon" |
| v. (perception) | 4. observe | watch attentively.; "Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals" |
| ~ bird, birdwatch | watch and study birds in their natural habitat. |
| ~ watch | look attentively.; "watch a basketball game" |
| ~ monitor, supervise | keep tabs on; keep an eye on; keep under surveillance.; "we are monitoring the air quality"; "the police monitor the suspect's moves" |
| ~ monitor | check, track, or observe by means of a receiver. |
| ~ reconnoiter, reconnoitre, scout | explore, often with the goal of finding something or somebody. |
| ~ track | observe or plot the moving path of something.; "track a missile" |
| v. (social) | 5. abide by, honor, honour, observe, respect | show respect towards.; "honor your parents!" |
| ~ accept | consider or hold as true.; "I cannot accept the dogma of this church"; "accept an argument" |
| ~ lionise, lionize, celebrate | assign great social importance to.; "The film director was celebrated all over Hollywood"; "The tenor was lionized in Vienna" |
| ~ tolerate | recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others).; "We must tolerate the religions of others" |
| v. (social) | 6. celebrate, keep, observe | behave as expected during of holidays or rites.; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur" |
| ~ commemorate, mark | mark by some ceremony or observation.; "The citizens mark the anniversary of the revolution with a march and a parade" |
| ~ mourn | observe the customs of mourning after the death of a loved one. |
| ~ solemnise, solemnize | observe or perform with dignity or gravity.; "The King solemnized this day of morning" |
| v. (social) | 7. follow, keep an eye on, observe, watch, watch over | follow with the eyes or the mind.; "Keep an eye on the baby, please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed the men with the binoculars" |
| ~ check, check into, check out, check over, check up on, suss out, look into, go over | examine so as to determine accuracy, quality, or condition.; "check the brakes"; "Check out the engine" |
| ~ trace, follow | follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something.; "We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba"; "trace the student's progress" |
| ~ keep tabs on | keep a record on or watch attentively.; "The government keeps tabs on the dissidents" |
| ~ guard | to keep watch over.; "there would be men guarding the horses" |
| ~ invigilate, proctor | watch over (students taking an exam, to prevent cheating). |
| v. (cognition) | 8. keep, maintain, observe | stick to correctly or closely.; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees" |
| v. (social) | 9. keep, observe | conform one's action or practice to.; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract" |
| ~ make good | act as promised.; "make good on promises" |
| spy | | |
| n. (person) | 1. spy, undercover agent | (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors. |
| ~ armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine | the military forces of a nation.; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" |
| ~ counterspy, mole | a spy who works against enemy espionage. |
| ~ double agent | a spy who works for two mutually antagonistic countries. |
| ~ espionage agent | someone employed to spy on another country or business competitor. |
| ~ foreign agent | a spy for a foreign country. |
| ~ infiltrator | someone who takes up a position surreptitiously for the purpose of espionage. |
| ~ intelligence agent, intelligence officer, operative, secret agent | a person secretly employed in espionage for a government. |
| ~ sleeper | a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a prearranged signal. |
| ~ margarete gertrud zelle, mata hari | Dutch dancer who was executed by the French as a German spy in World War I (1876-1917). |
| n. (person) | 2. spy | a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people.; "my spies tell me that you had a good time last night" |
| ~ snoop, snooper | a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others. |
| ~ looker, spectator, viewer, watcher, witness | a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind).; "the spectators applauded the performance"; "television viewers"; "sky watchers discovered a new star" |
| ~ shadower, tail, shadow | a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements. |
| v. (perception) | 3. descry, espy, spot, spy | catch sight of. |
| ~ sight, spy | catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes.; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge" |
| v. (communication) | 4. sleuth, snoop, spy, stag | watch, observe, or inquire secretly. |
| ~ enquire, investigate, inquire | conduct an inquiry or investigation of.; "The district attorney's office investigated reports of possible irregularities"; "inquire into the disappearance of the rich old lady" |
| ~ monitor, supervise | keep tabs on; keep an eye on; keep under surveillance.; "we are monitoring the air quality"; "the police monitor the suspect's moves" |
| v. (perception) | 5. sight, spy | catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes.; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge" |
| ~ perceive, comprehend | to become aware of through the senses.; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon" |
| ~ descry, espy, spot, spy | catch sight of. |
| ~ detect, discover, notice, observe, find | discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of.; "She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water"; "We found traces of lead in the paint" |
| v. (communication) | 6. spy | secretly collect sensitive or classified information; engage in espionage.; "spy for the Russians" |
| ~ enquire, investigate, inquire | conduct an inquiry or investigation of.; "The district attorney's office investigated reports of possible irregularities"; "inquire into the disappearance of the rich old lady" |
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