definitions
  • synonyms

perceptive

[ per-sep-tiv ]
/ pərˈsɛp tɪv /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR perceptive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition: a perceptive analysis of the problems involved.
having the power or faculty of perceiving.
of, relating to, or showing perception.

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RELATED WORDS

eye, acumen, keenness, discrimination, insight, understanding, sagacity, wit, penetration, nose, shrewdness, perspicacity, astuteness, judgment, percipience

Nearby words

percenter, percentile, percept, perceptible, perception, perceptive, perceptively, perceptual, perceptual defence, perceptual mapping, perceval

Origin of perceptive

1650–60; < Latin percept(us) (see percept) + -ive
SYNONYMS FOR perceptive
1 discerning, sensitive, keen, astute.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR perceptive ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms
Can be confusedperceptible perceptive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for perceptiveness

  • He told, too, a good story, which shows the perceptiveness of Indians.

    With Manchesters in the East|Gerald B. Hurst

  • All this is not Japanese, but from such accident is Japanese art inspired, with its good luck of perceptiveness.

    The Colour of Life|Alice Meynell

  • Bully Rawson, with all his faults, had the saving grace of perceptiveness, wherefore the bright idea remained unpropounded.

    A Secret of the Lebombo|Bertram Mitford

British Dictionary definitions for perceptiveness

perceptive

/ (pəˈsɛptɪv) /

adjective

quick at perceiving; observant
perceptual
able to perceive
Derived Formsperceptively, adverbperceptiveness or perceptivity, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perceptiveness

perceptive

adj.

1650s, from Latin percept-, past participle stem of percipere (see perceive) + -ive. In reference to intelligence from 1860. From mid-15c. as the name of a type of optical instrument. Related: Perceptively; perceptiveness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for perceptiveness

perceptive

[ pər-sĕp′tĭv ]

adj.

Of or relating to perception.
Having the ability to perceive.
Keenly discerning.
Related formsper′cep•tiv′i•ty (pûr′sĕp-tĭv′ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.