perceptive

[per-sep-tiv]

adjective

1. having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition.

   a perceptive analysis of the problems involved.

   Synonyms: astute, keen, sensitive, discerning

2. having the power or faculty of perceiving.

3. of, relating to, or showing perception.

perceptive

/ pəˈsɛptɪv /

adjective

1. quick at perceiving; observant

2. perceptual

3. able to perceive

Other Word Forms

• perceptively adverb
• perceptivity noun
• perceptiveness noun
• nonperceptive adjective
• nonperceptively adverb
• nonperceptiveness noun
• nonperceptivity noun
• self-perceptive adjective
• semiperceptive adjective
• unperceptive adjective
• unperceptively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of perceptive¹

1650–60; < Latin percept ( us ) ( percept ) + -ive

Example Sentences

"It can be more perceptive. It can see the target sooner than a human can. It can be more agile."

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Her debut album, Skin, was released in 2021, earning a Mercury Prize nomination for its soulful, perceptive ballads.

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And to his credit, Aster’s film is wryly perceptive, unflinching in the way it lampoons both the right and the left, the maskless and the socially distanced.

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The Hammer Museum presents the first United States institutional survey of figurative painter Noah Davis, highlighting his perceptive blend of realism and dreamlike imagery.

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He had a broad grin in Rome, but was also perceptive about what he has achieved.

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Related Words

• astute 
• discerning 
• discreet 
• incisive 
• insightful 
• intuitive 
• knowing 
• knowledgeable 
• observant 
• penetrating 
• wise