Showing results for "perceived"

• past participle of perceive.
• past tense form of perceive.

perceived

American  

[per-seevd] / pərˈsivd /

adjective

1. taken in by the senses; heard, seen, felt, etc..

   Spontaneous memories are activated by specific signals from the parts of the brain that deal with perceived stimuli like smells, pictures, and words.

2. detected, discerned, or recognized, often without corroboration by others.

   He fails to appreciate that the perceived "backlash" against his post was not an expression of reluctance to accept change, just disagreement with his specific proposal.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of perceive.

Other Word Forms

• perceivedness
  noun
• unperceived
  adjective
• well-perceived
  adjective
• perceivedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of perceived

perceive ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If you sense something is true by instinct, but not necessarily by fact, you can describe that sense as perceived. If you suspect that your neighbor's dog might be dangerous, you can say the dog is a perceived threat to your family's safety. The adjective perceived has its Latin roots in per, meaning "thoroughly," and capere, meaning "to grasp." Today it retains a sense of grasping something mentally or sensing it. Oddly, the word has two conflicting meanings: first, something you infer or suspect, rather than detecting with your senses. The second meaning, however, is quite the opposite: something sensed through your actual senses, especially those of sight or hearing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perceived

While Apple received initial criticism for its perceived lack of an AI strategy, it’s paying off in the current market.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

In Minneapolis, residents perceived the danger not as the vulnerable populations being stopped, but as armed federal power.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

The way words are perceived can change too, with connotations morphing from negative to positive.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

"They don't want to be perceived as a creep. They don't want to be seen as trying too hard in front of their peers. They want to come across as relaxed and cool."

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

“Do you not understand how our audacity will be perceived? Do you not understand, even now, what we have already accomplished, us coal miners’ kids down in deepest West by God Virginia?

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• anticipated
• recognized