WATCHING Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

watching

verb

present participle of watch

as in observing

to keep one's eyes on I turned my head to continue watching the bird as it flew away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in following

to take notice of and be guided by watch what I do when I run into that kind of problem

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in monitoring

to pay continued close attention to (something) for a particular purpose watched the situation to see if it improved

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in caring

to have an interest or concern for you should watch what you eat if you want a long, healthy life

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in supervising

to take charge of especially on behalf of another hired a high school girl to watch their daughter until they got home from work

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of watching Instead, he’s spent August anxiously watching the orange skies from his house in the northern Nevada hills through two consecutive and adjacent wild-land fires, the Bug and Hawk Fires. — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026 Owen Wolff, 21, was just a small child back then, watching his father play for MLS glory and represent America with the United States Men’s National Team. — Pj Green august 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026 Sale continued to win the hearts and minds of the 39,650 fans at Truist Park, and the thousands more watching elsewhere. — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026 Interested in watching a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket propel the telescope to space? — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Jolene In Jolene, released in 1974, Parton’s lyrics capture the torment of watching your lover flirt with someone else. — Wendy Hargreaves, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026 And then soup turned into Chick-fil-A, and watching that happen was fun. — James Grebey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026 Here are 10 players worth watching in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Friday night. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2026 The conversations that the screening started showed Teng that people are becoming more perceptive to watching stories from Palestine. — Matt Minton, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for watching

Verb

The film seeks to hold that tension through a deeply human perspective, where observing can also become an act of care.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
After their decades observing goatsbeard adapting to polyploidy in the lab, the Soltises can even predict which genes are most likely to get the boot and which are more likely to stick around.

— Carrie Arnold Contributing, Quanta Magazine, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of observing

Verb

Observers say the case was significant to the city's freedom of association and it has been closely watched amid the city's drastic political changes following massive anti-government protests in 2019.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Relations with Morocco have been strained following reports that its government had facilitated the mass border crossing, but Sánchez tamped down the speculation.

— Jack Guy, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of following

Verb

Investors were also monitoring the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, which concluded Tuesday, as well as a raft of domestic economic data, with nonfarm payrolls figures expected Friday.

— Sean Conlon,Hugh Leask, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
One relays location by sending an acoustic signal that can be detected by monitoring receivers set up along the coast.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of monitoring

Verb

The remaining Eagles stopped caring about the tug-of-war between art and commerce; for the next five decades, money ruled.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026
In many cases, the robot tail wags the living dog by tricking it—tricking us—into caring about obscure metrics, then gamifying the process of improving them.

— Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of caring

Verb

The jumper who was supervising the box that day, Joey Cowen, confirmed the request.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
While not directly involved in controlling the system, humans give Spike rules of engagement all the while, supervising the entire system during operation.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of supervising

Verb

Investors are also eyeing a meeting of G20 finance ministers, central bank governors and others in Asheville, North Carolina.

— Sean Conlon,Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
The distributor’s event film Legend of the White Dragon is eyeing $529k from limited screenings at 596 theaters.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of eyeing

Verb

In line with that argument, reporting on California’s latest lawsuit underscores how central mail-in ballots have become, noting that more than 89% of voters used mail ballots in the state’s June primary.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
But Crabtree rejected his request, noting that his financial resources included the two homes — one valued at $792,000 that carried no mortgage — two debt-free cars and $36,000 a month in pensions.

— Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of noting

Verb

Pack a tube of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) in your first aid kit instead of antibiotic ointment and remember to flush all scrapes and cuts with copious amounts of clean water before covering them with the jelly.

— Dr. Jill Grimes, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Ground surveys can provide more detailed information at a particular site, but covering an entire subway corridor that way would be difficult.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026