perception

[ per-sep-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: perceptionperceptions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the act or faculty of perceiving, or apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.

  2. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment: an artist of rare perception.

  1. the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; percept.

  2. Psychology. a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.

  3. Law. the taking into possession of rents, crops, profits, etc.

Origin of perception

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English percepcioun, from Old French percepcïon, from Latin perceptiōn-, stem of perceptiō “comprehension,” literally, “a taking in”; see percept, -ion

Other words for perception

Other words from perception

  • per·cep·tion·al, adjective
  • non·per·cep·tion, noun
  • non·per·cep·tion·al, adjective
  • re·per·cep·tion, noun
  • self-per·cep·tion, noun
  • un·per·cep·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use perception in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for perception

perception

/ (pəˈsɛpʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or the effect of perceiving

  2. insight or intuition gained by perceiving

  1. the ability or capacity to perceive

  2. way of perceiving; awareness or consciousness; view: advertising affects the customer's perception of a product

  3. the process by which an organism detects and interprets information from the external world by means of the sensory receptors

  4. law the collection, receipt, or taking into possession of rents, crops, etc

Origin of perception

1
C15: from Latin perceptiō comprehension; see perceive

Derived forms of perception

  • perceptional, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012