WATCHFUL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does watchful mean? 

• WATCHFUL (adjective)
  The adjective WATCHFUL has 2 senses:

1. engaged in or accustomed to close observation

2. experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness

  Familiarity information: WATCHFUL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WATCHFUL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engaged in or accustomed to close observation

Synonyms:

alert; watchful

Context example:

constantly alert and vigilant, like a sentinel on duty

Similar:

argus-eyed; open-eyed; vigilant; wakeful (carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger)

fly ((British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked)

heads-up; wide-awake (fully alert and watchful)

lidless; sleepless (always watchful)

Also:

wary (marked by keen caution and watchful prudence)

awake (not in a state of sleep; completely conscious)

lively (full of life and energy)

Derivation:

watchfulness (vigilant attentiveness)

watchfulness (the process of paying close and continuous attention)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness

Synonyms:

insomniac; sleepless; watchful

Context example:

twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights

Similar:

awake (not in a state of sleep; completely conscious)

 Context examples 

As I exchanged a translation for an exercise, I happened to look his way: there I found myself under the influence of the ever-watchful blue eye.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

You enter December under the watchful eye of a beautiful new moon in Sagittarius that recently occurred on November 26.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it and write of it without material pain.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Book after book was added to the heap of failures, Miss Murdstone being firmly watchful of us all the time.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Some of my comrades groaned, and my own mind began to grow watchful with anxious thoughts, when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention and diverted our solicitude from our own situation.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The watchful Austin had thrown open the hall door.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As they circled about, snarling, ears laid back, keenly watchful for the advantage, the scene came to Buck with a sense of familiarity.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Wary and careful they must be, with watchful eyes to the right and the left, for this was no man's land, and their only passports were those which hung from their belts.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Under the watchful eyes of five high-speed cameras, a small bird named Gary waits for the signal to fly.

(Researchers study birds to improve how robots land, National Science Foundation)

Except when carried away by his enthusiasm, he was always on guard, keenly watchful of their actions and learning their little courtesies and refinements of conduct.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)