Ob·serve v. t. [imp. & p. p. Observed p. pr. & vb. n. Observing.]
1. To take notice of by appropriate conduct; to conform one's action or practice to; to keep; to heed; to obey; to comply with; as, to observe rules or commands; to observe civility.
Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. --Ex. xii. 17.
He wolde no such cursedness observe. --Chaucer.
Must I budge? Must I observe you? --Shak.
With solemn purpose to observe
Immutably his sovereign will. --Milton.
2. To be on the watch respecting; to pay attention to; to notice with care; to see; to perceive; to notice; to discover; as, to observe an eclipse; to observe the color or fashion of a dress; to observe the movements of an army; to observe an accident.
3. To express as what has been noticed; to utter as a remark; to say in a casual or incidental way; to remark.
observed
adj : discovered or determined by scientific observation;
"variation in the ascertained flux depends on a number
of factors"; "the discovered behavior norms";
"discovered differences in achievement"; "no
explanation for the observed phenomena" [syn: ascertained,
discovered]