heed

To heed something is to listen to it, pay careful attention to it, or otherwise observe or acknowledge it in some way—and often to take action on it.

To heed a warning is to listen to it and do what it says to do (or not do what it says not to do). To heed a request is honor it—to do what is requested. To heed calls for reform is to acknowledge them, and, sometimes, to actually follow through and make reforms.

Heed can also be used as a noun meaning careful attention or observation. It’s most often used in the phrases take heed, give heed, and pay heed, which all mean to listen or pay attention, as in Take heed to what he says, for he is very wise. To pay no heed to someone is to disregard or ignore them.

The adjective unheeded means disregarded, despite having been heard or noted. An unheeded warning is one that has been ignored.

Example: I should have heeded your warnings, but instead I ignored them.

The first records of the word heed come from before 900. It comes from the Old English word ��ŧ�岹��, which is related to the German ��ü�ٱ��, meaning “to guard” or “to protect.”

Today, heed can sometimes sound old-fashioned, and terms like pay attention to or listen to are more commonly used. But heed packs a lot of meaning into just four letters, since it usually means “pay attention to and then act on.” Perhaps because of this and how short it is, heed is often used in news headlines, as in Governor heeds calls for tax reform or Residents urged to heed evacuation order.

������ are some other forms related to heed?

• heeder (noun)
• heedful (adjective)
• heedfulness (noun)

������ are some synonyms for heed?

• listen to
• pay attention to
• attend
• mark
• regard
• note

������ are some words that share a root or word element with heed?��

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• unheeded

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������ are some words that often get used in discussing heed?

• warning
• advice
• call
• request
• take
• give
• pay

Heed is especially used in the context of warnings, advice, requests, and calls for some kind of action.

Prepare 👏 prepare 👏 prepare 👏

We do what we do so can give you as much of a heads up as possible. Listen to your local gov’t. Heed warnings. Be prepared.

Most of all, stay safe, everyone!

— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS)

How should museums serve the public? Are museums heeding calls for diversity? National Gallery of Art director Kaywin Feldman and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson answer these questions and more

— ARTnews (@artnews)

Tax bills can swell or shrink based on how well people heed the fine-print rules of their retirement accounts

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ)

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Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym of heed?

A. disregard
B. listen to
C. note
D. pay attention to