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OBSERVANCE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of observing; taking a patient look
Synonyms:
observance; observation; watching
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("observance" is a kind of...):
look; looking; looking at (the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "observance"):
monitoring (the act of observing something (and sometimes keeping a record of it))
sighting (the act of observing)
stargazing (observation of the stars)
Derivation:
observe (watch attentively)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Conformity with law or custom or practice etc.
Synonyms:
honoring; observance
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("observance" is a kind of...):
abidance; compliance; conformation; conformity (acting according to certain accepted standards)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "observance"):
punctilio (strict observance of formalities)
Antonym:
nonobservance (a lack of conformity with law or custom or practice etc.)
Derivation:
observant ((of individuals) adhering strictly to laws and rules and customs)
observe (conform one's action or practice to)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The act of noticing or paying attention
Example:
he escaped the notice of the police
Synonyms:
notice; observance; observation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("observance" is a kind of...):
attending; attention (the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "observance"):
mind (attention)
remark (explicit notice)
Derivation:
observant (paying close attention especially to details)
observe (discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A formal event performed on a special occasion
Example:
a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor
Synonyms:
ceremonial; ceremonial occasion; ceremony; observance
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("observance" is a kind of...):
affair; function; occasion; social function; social occasion (a vaguely specified social event)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "observance"):
potlatch (a ceremonial feast held by some Indians of the northwestern coast of North America (as in celebrating a marriage or a new accession) in which the host gives gifts to tribesmen and others to display his superior wealth (sometimes, formerly, to his own impoverishment))
Maundy (a public ceremony on Maundy Thursday when the monarch distributes Maundy money)
formalities; formality (a requirement of etiquette or custom)
fire walking (the ceremony of walking barefoot over hot stones or a bed of embers)
exercise ((usually plural) a ceremony that involves processions and speeches)
induction; initiation; installation (a formal entry into an organization or position or office)
military ceremony (a formal ceremony performed by military personnel)
commemoration; memorialisation; memorialization (a ceremony to honor the memory of someone or something)
opening (a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise)
dedication (a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose)
pageant; pageantry (a rich and spectacular ceremony)
hymeneals; nuptials; wedding; wedding ceremony (the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed)
funeral; obsequy (a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated)
circumstance (formal ceremony about important occasions)
Derivation:
observe (behave as expected during of holidays or rites)
Context examples:
Henry Crawford had too much sense not to feel the worth of good principles in a wife, though he was too little accustomed to serious reflection to know them by their proper name; but when he talked of her having such a steadiness and regularity of conduct, such a high notion of honour, and such an observance of decorum as might warrant any man in the fullest dependence on her faith and integrity, he expressed what was inspired by the knowledge of her being well principled and religious.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
She should see them henceforward with the closest observance; and wretchedly as she had hitherto misunderstood even those she was watching, she did not know how to admit that she could be blinded here.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
She had previously, in the anticipation of their marriage, been very apprehensive of losing her friend by it; but on being assured that he could have made no attempt of that nature, since he did not even know her to be in Bath, it immediately occurred, that something might be done in her favour by the influence of the woman he loved, and she had been hastily preparing to interest Anne's feelings, as far as the observances due to Mr Elliot's character would allow, when Anne's refutation of the supposed engagement changed the face of everything; and while it took from her the new-formed hope of succeeding in the object of her first anxiety, left her at least the comfort of telling the whole story her own way.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Having regulated her thoughts and comforted her feelings by this happy mixture of reason and weakness, she was able in due time to go down and resume her usual employments near her aunt Bertram, and pay her the usual observances without any apparent want of spirits.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
