Observational Meaning
/ˌɒbzəˈveɪʃənəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjRelating to observation, especially scientific observation.
Sentence Examples
I read the article "Exoplanet Biosignatures: Observational Prospects."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ research method involved simply watching human behavior without interference.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The study relied on ____ data collected from nature rather than experiments conducted in a lab.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English observation Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English observational From observation + -al.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The essential fact is simply that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational fact, are mathematical pictures."
— 1931, Sir James Hopwood Jeans, “Into the Deep Waters”, in The Mysterious Universe, Cambridge UP, page 111:
"An alternative way of defending the proposal to conflate NP MOVEMENT with XP MOVEMENT would be to question the observational adequacy of the claim that NP MOVEMENT only ever has NP constituents as its target."
— 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 10, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 535:
"No less than the novelist, the psychologist must employ techniques of literary construction to render scientific accounts acceptable. Most importantly, to the extent that such techniques dominate the scientific account, observational practices—regardless of rigor—cease to be influential."
— 1990, Kenneth J. Gergen, “Textual Considerations in the Scientific Construction of Human Character”, in Style, volume 24, number 3, →JSTOR, page 366:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ research method involved simply watching human behavior without interference.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The study relied on ____ data collected from nature rather than experiments conducted in a lab.