perceive

per·ceive

Use perceive in a sentence

verb

Perceive is defined as to see, hear or feel something or to have an understanding of something.

An example of perceive is what a woman might think about giving birth after hearing other women's birth stories.

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MLA Style

"perceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE>.

APA Style

perceive. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE

perceive

transitive verb

intransitive verb

-·ceived′, -·ceiv′ing

to grasp mentally; take note (of); observe
to become aware (of) through one of the senses, esp. through sight

Origin of perceive

Middle English perceyven from Old French perceivre from Classical Latin percipere, to take hold of, feel, comprehend from per, through + capere, to take: see have

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"perceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE>.

APA Style

perceive. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE

perceive

transitive verb

per·ceived, per·ceiv·ing, per·ceives

a. To become aware of (something) directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing: We could perceive three figures in the fog.
b. To cause or allow the mind to become aware of (a stimulus): The ear perceives sounds.
To achieve understanding of; apprehend: Einstein perceived that energy and matter are equivalent. See Synonyms at see¹.
To regard or consider; deem: an old technology that is still perceived as useful; a politician who is perceived to be a dissembler.

Origin of perceive

Middle English perceiven from Old French perceivre from Latin percipere per- per- capere to seize ; see kap- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

per·ceiv′a·ble
adjective

per·ceiv′a·bly
adverb

per·ceiv′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"perceive." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE>.

APA Style

perceive. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/perCEIVE

Verb

(third-person singular simple present perceives, present participle perceiving, simple past and past participle perceived)

To see, to be aware of, to understand.

Related terms

Origin

From Middle English perceiven, from Old French percevoir, perceveir, from Latin percipere, past participle perceptus (“take hold of, obtain, receive, observe"), from per (“by, through") + capere (“to take"); see capable. Compare conceive, deceive, receive.