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Definition
conformity with law or custom or practiceor:
taking part in a ritual — such as celebrating a holiday
Much more rarely, observance can be used in place of observation (to watch patiently).
- And so he did all the observance of the service himself, both the dirige, and on the morn he sang mass.Thomas Malory -- Le Morte D'Arthur
- Fremen mark the observance according to the ninth meridian-crossing cycle of the first moon.Frank Herbert -- Dune
- And so he did all the observance of the service himself, both the dirige, and on the morn he sang mass.Thomas Malory -- Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume II
- He spoke in the name of something sacred and precious—the observance of a magnificent form.Henry James -- The Portrait of a Lady - Volumes 1 & 2
- Each soul was rated upon a basis often as regards its goodness, its diligence in religious observance, and its importance to its family group.Thornton Wilder -- The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- Religion and its observances had made Felton a man inaccessible to ordinary seductions.Alexandre Dumas -- The Three Musketeers
- Where was piety and observance?Henry Roth -- Call It Sleep
- He spoke in the name of something sacred and precious—the observance of a magnificent form.Henry James -- The Portrait of a Lady - Volume 2
- Mostly a lot of riffraff turned up, however, in observance of his troubles, which were by then public and had been for some time.Saul Bellow -- The Adventures of Augie March
- Their only interest is in a new one-way international law, which lacks mutuality in its observance and therefore becomes an instrument of oppression.Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- The Four Freedoms
- As her release date neared, Vanessa got increasingly anxious, with a decided uptick in religious observance.Piper Kerman -- Orange Is the New Black
- If I do sweat, they are the drops of thy lovers, and they weep for thy death: therefore rouse up fear and trembling, and do observance to my mercy.William Shakespeare -- Henry IV, Part 2
- I have never attended a Blood-oath Celebration and it is the most important of our observances.Christopher Paolini -- Eldest
- Nor will there ever be wanting to a prince legitimate reasons to excuse this non-observance.Nicolo Machiavelli -- The Prince
- Rather, it required—in addition to belief in the gods— observance of rites, prayers, and the offering of sacrifices.Doug Linder -- The Trial of Socrates
- Are there no other tokens Between you 'greed concerning her observance?William Shakespeare -- Measure for Measure
- This was an observance the authorities considered mandatory.Nelson Mandela -- Long Walk to Freedom
- They waited for her to rejoice in kind, on cue, with due observance of the protocols.Don DeLillo -- Underworld
- With governmental offices due to close at noon for the Good Friday observance, there's little time to spare.Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard -- Killing Lincoln
- It is as easy to count atomies as to resolve the propositions of a lover:—but take a taste of my finding him, and relish it with good observance.William Shakespeare -- As You Like It
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