perceive
Americanverb (used with object)
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perceives,
present (3rd person singular)
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perceived,
past participle, past
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perceiving
present participle
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to become aware of, know, or identify by means of the senses.
I perceived an object looming through the mist.
- Synonyms:
- distinguish, descry, observe, discover, note
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to recognize, discern, envision, or understand: This is a nice idea but I perceive difficulties in putting it into practice.
I perceive a note of sarcasm in your voice.
This is a nice idea but I perceive difficulties in putting it into practice.
verb
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to become aware of (something) through the senses, esp the sight; recognize or observe
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to come to comprehend; grasp
Synonym Usage
See notice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perceivabilitynoun
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perceivernoun
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perceivingnessnoun
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reperceiveverb (used with object)
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nonperceivingadjective
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perceivableadjective
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self-perceivingadjective
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unperceivingadjective
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perceivablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perceivesimple
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perceivessimple
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have perceivedperfect
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has perceivedperfect
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am perceivingprogressive
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are perceivingprogressive
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is perceivingprogressive
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have been perceivingperfect progressive
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has been perceivingperfect progressive
Past
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perceivedsimple
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had perceivedperfect
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was perceivingprogressive
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were perceivingprogressive
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had been perceivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perceive
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English perceiven, from unattested Anglo-French perceivre, for perçoivre, from Latin percipere “to lay hold of, grasp,” equivalent to per- per- + -cipere, combining form of capere “to take”
Explanation
When we perceive something, we become aware of or notice it. Sometimes we perceive things by using our senses of sight, hearing, and smell. Or we can use our mind to perceive things, which means that we are able to recognize or understand them. We can also perceive a person or thing as having certain qualities: Do you perceive yourself as a good student? The Latin root percipere means "to receive, understand," from the prefix per- "thoroughly" plus capere "to seize, take."
Vocabulary lists containing perceive
List 1
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Metamorphosis
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Their goal was to explore a long-standing mystery: how did the dodo perceive and interact with the world around it?
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
Sometimes what we perceive as micromanagement is just workplace culture.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
And truthfully, there’s dignity in that curiosity, in wanting to know if greatness is all there is, or if there is something more that exists beyond what we can perceive.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
At Germany's Canyon, a racing bike equipped with cameras and radars promises to alert cyclists "to the presence of elements they do not necessarily perceive", company spokesman Ben Hilldson said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
I just had to stay focused on my goal and ignore any haters—both real and imagined—that I might perceive.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Now, though, he perceives bitcoin is “potentially on the verge of breaking out of this range to the upside and breaking the bear trend.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
"China perceives Spain as relatively friendly, less confrontational toward China than other countries and likely more independent from Washington. This allows for more autonomous decision-making," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Despite their perilous position, Passmoor believes Lehmann has made a positive impact and backs up how his striker perceives herself.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
The International Energy Agency will release 400 million barrels from emergency stocks, but the market perceives it as insufficient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
He believed that the exterior world could be transferred to paper—not in the ghost shadings of black and white but in the colors the human eye perceives.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Yet for KeyBanc Capital Markets these two perceived issues create “an opportunity for investors who appreciate the revenue and EPS implications of doubling capacity into the strongest catalyst the industry has likely ever seen.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Marine heatwaves are no longer just recognized as an environmental issue; they are increasingly also perceived as a human health issue," Dr. Falkenberg said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Iran’s top negotiators and perceived moderates are openly under attack in the country’s media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Now it will have to balance the potential reputational fall out of the Jason Arday row for its academic credibility, with how that might be perceived by future talented black students and academics.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The West Wing—particularly David Axelrod, now a senior adviser in the administration, and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs—thought it would be perceived as too showy, too costly, and could potentially alienate Barack from the public.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
In under half a minute, the state’s theory asserts, Byrd and Roberts went from perceiving a genuine threat and returning fire to pursuing someone who no longer posed a danger.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Washington is perceiving China as its first strategic priority,” Breuer said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The consultation is looking into how this would be determined, and is considering factors such as people living together, sharing finances and others perceiving them as a couple.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
But the more we do that, the more things there are for us to pay attention to and the more worries we have about how other people are perceiving us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
Children’s knowledge of how to use a tool could be a result of their experience with the tool; alternatively, it could be a result of their perceiving the tool’s affordances from shape and manipulability cues.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
