Link Centre Dictionary

watchful

watch·ful

UK/ˈwɒt͡ʃ.fəl/ US/ˈwɔt͡ʃ.fəl/ uncommon

adjective

1.

carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger

  • “a policy of open-eyed awareness”
  • “the vigilant eye of the town watch”
  • “there was a watchful dignity in the room”
  • “a watchful parent with a toddler in tow”
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2.

experiencing or accompanied by sleeplessness

  • “insomniac old people”
  • “insomniac nights”
  • “lay sleepless all night”
  • “twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights” Shakespeare
Synonyms
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Origin

From Middle English waccheful, equivalent to watch + -ful. Compare West Frisian waaks (“watchful”), Dutch waaks, waakzaam (“watchful”), German wachsam (“watchful”), Swedish vaksam (“watchful”).

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.