observation: Meaning and Definition of

ob•ser•va•tion

Pronunciation: (ob"zûr-vā'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
  2. an act or instance of regarding attentively or watching.
  3. the faculty or habit of observing or noticing.
  4. notice: to escape a person's observation.
  5. an act or instance of viewing or noting a fact or occurrence for some scientific or other special purpose: the observation of blood pressure under stress.
  6. the information or record secured by such an act.
  7. something that is learned in the course of observing things: My observation is that such clouds mean a storm.
  8. a remark, comment, or statement based on what one has noticed or observed.
  9. the condition of being observed.
    1. the measurement of the altitude or azimuth of a heavenly body for navigational purposes.
    2. the information obtained by such a measurement.
  10. observance, as of the law.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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