perceptive
Americanadjective
-
having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition.
a perceptive analysis of the problems involved.
- Synonyms:
- astute, keen, sensitive, discerning
-
having the power or faculty of perceiving.
-
of, relating to, or showing perception.
adjective
-
quick at perceiving; observant
-
perceptual
-
able to perceive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perceptive
Explanation
If someone calls you perceptive, they mean you are good at understanding things or figuring things out. Perceptive people are insightful, intelligent, and able to see what others cannot. Perceive means "to see"; so, perceptive is a word to describe someone who is good at seeing. Perceptive is derived from the Latin word percipere which means "to obtain or gather." A perceptive person is good at gathering information and using her senses to take in the world. If you are upset but trying to hide it, a perceptive person is the one who will notice.
Vocabulary lists containing perceptive
ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
Simers tended to probe and kid and seek to stir up things, but Anderson also recognized that he could be highly accurate, perceptive and even fun.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
We put store in knowing what people look like: hence the value of perceptive portraits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Unburdened by the contemporary setting that sometimes trips up a filmmaker’s boldest ideas, Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee” is perhaps the year’s most extraordinarily perceptive film.
From Salon • Dec. 5, 2025
Twelve months on, their visit brought more words of caution from Amorim about his side's evolution that proved equally perceptive.
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
“I’m sure that it was rather perceptive and incisive, whatever it was. I would imagine that it is rather difficult to comprehend her assaults upon the mother tongue.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
