perceive

[per-seev]

verb (used with object)

perceived, perceiving 

1. 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

2. 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.

perceive

/ pəˈsiːv /

verb

1. to become aware of (something) through the senses, esp the sight; recognize or observe

2. (tr; may take a clause as object) to come to comprehend; grasp

Other Word Forms

• perceiver noun
• perceivingness noun
• nonperceiving adjective
• reperceive verb (used with object)
• self-perceiving adjective
• unperceiving adjective
• perceivability noun
• perceivably adverb
• perceivable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of perceive¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of perceive¹

C13: from Old French perçoivre, from Latin percipere seize entirely, from _per- (thoroughly) + capere to grasp

Synonym Study

See notice.

Example Sentences

The Assad regime, one of the world’s most brutal, jailed and killed thousands of perceived opponents over its 50 years in power.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The iPhone maker’s more measured approach to AI spending has largely been perceived as a negative by Wall Street up until this point.

Read more on MarketWatch

They perceive American problems with capitalism—economic inequality, rising housing prices, corrupting greed—as requiring a governmental solution.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It opened my imagination to the possibility that life could expand far beyond the boundaries that I then perceived in my own life.

Read more on BBC

“Markets fear the government is mismanaging the economy and are therefore demanding a higher yield for holding Japanese debt, what they perceive as being riskier than before,” the analyst adds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• appreciate 
• comprehend 
• distinguish 
• feel 
• grasp 
• know 
• read 
• realize 
• recognize 
• see