perception

American  

[per-sep-shuhn] / pərˈsɛp ʃən /

noun

• perceptions
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

   recognition, sense, awareness

2. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment.

   an artist of rare perception.

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

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

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

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perception British  

/ pəˈsɛpʃən /

noun

1. the act or the effect of perceiving

2. insight or intuition gained by perceiving

3. the ability or capacity to perceive

4. way of perceiving; awareness or consciousness; view

   advertising affects the customer's perception of a product

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

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonperception
  noun
• reperception
  noun
• self-perception
  noun
• nonperceptional
  adjective
• perceptional
  adjective
• unperceptional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• perceptions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of perception

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

Explanation

Each generation has a different perception — view, idea or understanding — of what is cool. You wouldn't want to walk around in the paisley patterns of the 1960s or the big hair of the 1980s today! Based on the Latin root cipere, "to grasp," perception refers to the way you take in the world through your senses. Have you ever thought a stair was bigger than it really was so your step was too heavy? Your depth perception was off. The noun also means the opinions and beliefs you've formed about something. Your perception of your room after you've cleaned it is different than your parents' — you see clean and they probably don't.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perception perceptions

And Thatcher’s other film roles in 2023’s “The Boogeyman” and a bit part in the following year’s “MaXXXine” certainly don’t help Hollywood’s perception of her as a wannabe scream queen.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

These worrying landmarks reinforce a market perception that fixed-income investments are losing bets, a sentiment Hartnett summarizes as “Anything But Bonds.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

"This is mainly due to the club's perception of its worth not being matched by that of sponsors themselves," Maguire said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

But she told me that Gould’s three words come to her when she’s behind in a game, or explaining the disconnect between the company’s results and the market’s perception to employees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

With virtually no depth perception and no ability to see horses to his outside, he was far more vulnerable to positioning errors.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

A reading below 50 indicates that builder perceptions of current sales and sales expectations are net negative.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Consequently, Barclays said: “In contrast, skew on credit ETFs, led by LQD, steepened sharply, opening a notable divergence in downside risk perceptions across asset classes.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

The rise in sentiment was driven by improved perceptions of the economy and a surge in motivation to make major purchases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Friedkin’s movie shifted people’s perceptions about fear and played with longstanding ideas about the nuclear family and religious ideology, themes that were starting to be contested and debated as America moved further from ’50s-era sterility.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

In the safe harbor of each other’s company they could afford to abandon the ways of other people and concentrate on their own perceptions of things.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

Related Words

• approach
• attention
• attitude
• awareness
• concept
• consciousness
• feeling
• image
• impression
• judgment
• knowledge
• notion
• opinion
• recognition
• sense
• taste
• thought
• viewpoint