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Show vs Observe - What's the difference?

show | observe |

As a noun show

is show, spectacle.

As a verb observe is

.

show

English

Alternative forms

* shew (archaic)

Verb

  • To display, to have somebody see (something).
  • * , chapter=22
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.}}
  • To bestow; to confer.
  • to show''' mercy; to '''show favour
  • To indicate (a fact) to be true; to demonstrate.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
  • , author=John T. Jost, volume=100, issue=2, page=162, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)? , passage=He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.}}
  • To guide or escort.
  • To be visible, to be seen.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Just such she shows before a rising storm.
  • * (1809-1892)
  • All round a hedge upshoots, and shows / At distance like a little wood.
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed .}}
  • (informal) To put in an appearance; show up.
  • (informal) To have an enlarged belly and thus be recognizable as pregnant.
  • (racing) To finish third, especially of horses or dogs.
  • (obsolete) To have a certain appearance, such as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • My lord of York, it better showed with you.

    Usage notes

    In the past, shew'' was used as a past tense form and ''shewed as a past participle of this verb; both forms are now archaic.

    Synonyms

    * (display) display, indicate, point out, reveal, exhibit * (indicate a fact to be true) demonstrate, prove * (put in an appearance) arrive, show up

    Antonyms

    * (display) conceal, cover up, hide * (indicate a fact to be true) disprove, refute

    Derived terms

    * show a clean pair of heels * show ankle * * show off * show one's true colors * show one's true stripes * show somebody the door * show up

    See also

    * showcase * showdown

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (countable) A play, dance, or other entertainment.
  • * , chapter=4
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show . He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.}}
  • (countable) An exhibition of items.
  • (countable) A demonstration.
  • (countable) A broadcast program/programme.
  • (countable) A movie.
  • (uncountable) Mere display or pomp with no substance.
  • * Young
  • I envy none their pageantry and show .
  • A project or presentation.
  • Let's get on with the show'''.   Let's get this '''show''' on the road.   They went on an international road '''show''' to sell the shares to investors.   It was Apple's usual dog and pony ' show .
  • The major leagues.
  • (mining, obsolete) A pale blue flame at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of firedamp.
  • (Raymond)
  • (obsolete) Semblance; likeness; appearance.
  • * Bible, Luke xx. 46. 47
  • Beware of the scribes,which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers.
  • * (John Milton)
  • He through the midst unmarked, / In show plebeian angel militant / Of lowest order, passed.
  • (medicine) A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occurring a short time before labor.
  • Synonyms

    * (exhibition) exhibition, exposition * (demonstration) demonstration, illustration, proof * program(me) * (mere display with no substance) , front, superficiality * (baseball) big leagues

    Derived terms

    * showbusiness, showbiz * show business * showlike * showy * talk show

    See also

    * showman * showpiece * show-stopper * show-stopping

    Statistics

    *

    observe

    English

    Verb

    (observ)
  • (lb) To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
  • :
  • *1892 , (Arthur Conan Doyle),
  • *:“One horse?” interjected Holmes. ¶ “Yes, only one.” ¶ “Did you observe the colour?”
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=Frank Fish, George Lauder
  • , volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Not Just Going with the Flow , passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
  • (lb) To follow or obey the custom, practice, or rules (especially of a religion).
  • :
  • *Bible, (w)
  • *:Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
  • , title= England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report , passage=A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward. }}
  • (lb) To comment on something; to make an observation.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed , lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
  • Synonyms

    * (follow a custom) celebrate

    Derived terms

    * observance * observant * observation * observational * observatory * observer

    Anagrams

    * * English reporting verbs ----