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Surveillance vs Watching - What's the difference?

surveillance | watching |

As nouns the difference between surveillance and watching

is that surveillance is close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion while watching is the act of one who watches.

As a verb watching is

present participle of lang=en.

surveillance

English

(wikipedia surveillance)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.
  • Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.
  • (military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-12-14
    • , author=Simon Jenkins, authorlink=Simon Jenkins , title=We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys , volume=188, issue=2, page=23 , date=2012-12-21 , magazine= citation , passage=The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance , intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty.}}
  • (legal) In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.

    • Derived terms

    * uberveillance

    Related terms

    * surveil * survey

    See also

    * wiretapping * shadowing * tailing * lookout (act) * sousveillance English words not following the I before E except after C rule ----

    watching

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
    • , volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of one who watches.
  • * 1819 , John Edwards Caldwell, Christian Herald and Seaman's Magazine (volume 6, page 225)
    • What toils and pains; what cares and watchings ; how many reproofs, restraints, and corrections; how many prayers, and sighs, and tears, are employed and suffered, before this hard task can be accomplished?

    Derived terms

    * whale watching