perception

[per-sep-shuhn]

noun

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.

perception

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perception¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perception¹

C15: from Latin perceptiō comprehension; see _perceive

Example Sentences

Philadelphia’s quarterback is a Super Bowl MVP who can’t shake the perception that he’s too risk-averse, too reliant on his legs, and not maximizing the Philadelphia attack.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This idealized view is also far more sympathetic than modern perceptions of other medieval events, including the Crusades, which are now linked with coercion and brutality.

Read more on Science Daily

Instead, possession football has become an obsession, where teams are prepared to risk playing out from the back to accommodate the perception of playing football 'the right way'.

Read more on BBC

The mushroom latte was possibly slightly more bitter, but my perception may have been affected because I was expecting it to taste different.

Read more on BBC

Stop trying to control what you can’t change — including your loved one’s perceptions or ideology.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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