observation

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act of observing, and the fact of being observed (see observance)

   “But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,[…]. We began to tell her about Mohair and the cotillon, and of our point of observation from the Florentine galleried porch, and she insisted she would join us there.”

   “The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier.”

2. (countable, uncountable)The act of noting and recording some event; or the record of such noting.
3. (countable, uncountable)A remark or comment.

   “That's a foolish observation.”

   “To observations which ourselves we make / We grow more partial for the observer's sake.”

4. (countable, uncountable)A judgement based on observing.

   “This hypothesis goes by many names, including group resistence, the threshold effect, and the gender paradox. Because the hypothesis holds such wide appeal, it is worth revisiting the logic behind it. The hypothesis is built on the factual observation that fewer females than males act antisocially.”

5. (countable, uncountable)Performance of what is prescribed; adherence in practice; observance.

   “We are to procure dispensation or leave to omit the observation of it in such circumstances.”

6. (countable, uncountable)A regime under which a subject is routinely observed.
7. (countable, uncountable)A realization of a random variable.