Try Our Apps
Dictionary.com

follow Dictionary.com

Avoid these words. Seriously.

perceptive

[per-sep-tiv] /pərˈsɛp tɪv/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective
1.
having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition:
a perceptive analysis of the problems involved.
2.
having the power or faculty of perceiving.
3.
of, relating to, or showing perception.
Origin of perceptive
Latin
1650-1660
1650-60; < Latin percept(us) (see percept) + -ive
Related forms
perceptively, adverb
perceptivity, perceptiveness, noun
nonperceptive, adjective
nonperceptively, adverb
nonperceptiveness, noun
nonperceptivity, noun
self-perceptive, adjective
semiperceptive, adjective
unperceptive, adjective
unperceptively, adverb
Can be confused
perceptible, perceptive.
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. discerning, sensitive, keen, astute.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for perceptively
Historical Examples

  • perceptively I shudder in the awful remembrance of their occasion, and the day may come when they will be needed once more.

    Walls of Acid Henry Hasse

  • I stopped long enough to check the Bonanza .375 both visually and perceptively and then loaded it full.

    Highways in Hiding George Oliver Smith
British Dictionary definitions for perceptively

perceptive

/pəˈsɛptɪv/
adjective
1.
quick at perceiving; observant
2.
perceptual
3.
able to perceive
Derived Forms
perceptively, adverb
perceptiveness, perceptivity, noun
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
Cite This Source
Word Origin and History for perceptively

perceptive

adj.

1650s, from Latin percept-, past participle stem of percipere (see perceive) + -ive. In reference to intelligence from 1860. From mid-15c. as the name of a type of optical instrument. Related: Perceptively; perceptiveness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
perceptively in Medicine

perceptive per·cep·tive (pər-sěp'tĭv)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to perception.

  2. Having the ability to perceive.

  3. Keenly discerning.

per'cep·tiv'i·ty (pûr'sěp-tĭv'ĭ-tē) or per·cep'tive·ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Related Word

Nearby words for perceptively

Word Value for perceptively

24
28
Scrabble Words With Friends
Extra Cozy Words We Need Right Now