perception

American  

[per-sep-shuhn] / pərˈsɛp ʃən /

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.

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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

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

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

"But perhaps what's interesting is the reaction of some other states, such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, reacting to the threat perception," he said.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

The model powers Meta’s AI assistant and specializes in multimodal perception, reasoning, health and agentic tasks.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

McSweeney's name was also often linked with the perception that No 10 was a "boys' club" often ignoring Labour MPs.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

“I don’t want the perception that we’re millionaires.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

His perception of the striking improvement of Harriet’s manner, since her introduction at Hartfield, was not one of the least agreeable proofs of his growing attachment.

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

Related Words

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