watchful

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒt͡ʃ.fəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔt͡ʃ.fəl/
• Hyphenation: watch‧ful

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

watchful (comparative more watchful, superlative most watchful)

1. Fully observant, vigilant, or aware.

   The teacher kept a watchful eye on her pupils during the school trip.

   • 1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “The Shadow of the Past”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published September 1973, →ISBN, page 93:

     But there was so much at stake that I had to take some risk—though even when I was far away there has never been a day when the Shire has not been guarded by watchful eyes.

Derived terms

• ever-watchful
• watchful waiting
• watchfully
• watchfulness

Translations

observant, vigilant and aware

• Armenian: զգոն (hy) (zgon)
• Bengali: সতর্ক (bn) (śotork)
• Bulgarian: бдителен (bg) (bditelen), внимателен (bg) (vnimatelen)
• Danish: vågent
• Dutch: waakzaam (nl)
• French: attentif (fr), vigilant (fr)
• Galician: fiteiro, atento, vixiante
• German: wachsam (de)
• Gothic: 𐌿𐍃𐍃𐌺𐌰𐍅𐍃 (usskaws)
• Irish: airdeallach, cathaiseach (literary)
• Japanese: 注意深い (ja) (chūi-bukai)
• Latin: vigilax, evigilans
• Latvian: modrs
• Maori: matatū, mataara, ohiti, owhiti, whakamātaki, whakamatatū, hihiwa, matakana, hiwahiwa, tūmatohi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vaktsom

• Old English: wacor
• Ottoman Turkish: سهران (sehran)
• Portuguese: vigilante (pt), alerta (pt), atento (pt)
• Romanian: vigilent (ro), atent (ro)
• Russian: бди́тельный (ru) (bdítelʹnyj)
• Sanskrit: प्रबुध् (sa) (prabudh)
• Scottish Gaelic: faireil
• Spanish: atento (es), avizor