Meaning & use
perceive
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To notice or become aware of something by seeing, hearing, or using the senses.
Grammar: Takes an object: perceive a sound. It is more formal than notice or see.
Patterns
- perceive something
- perceive something as something
- perceive that
She perceived a faint smell of smoke in the hallway.
Dogs can perceive high sounds that humans miss.
verbtransitive
To understand, judge, or interpret someone or something in a particular way.
Grammar: Common pattern is perceive someone or something as; the as phrase shows the interpretation.
Patterns
- perceive someone as something
- perceive something to be
- perceive a threat
Voters perceived the plan as unfair.
He is perceived to be honest, though few know him well.
Word forms
| third person singular | perceives |
|---|---|
| past tense | perceived |
| past participle | perceived |
| -ing form | perceiving |
Common combinations
- perceive a difference
- Children quickly perceive a difference in tone.
- perceive something as a threat
- The bird perceived the umbrella as a threat.
- widely perceived
- The rule is widely perceived as too strict.
- perceive that
- I perceived that she wanted to leave.
Synonyms and how they differ
- notice
- Notice is simpler and sensory; perceive adds careful awareness and is more formal.
- sense
- Sense suggests a feeling that may be less clear; perceive suggests awareness that can be described.
- interpret
- Interpret emphasizes explaining meaning, while perceive includes becoming aware before judging.
- conceive
- Conceive means imagine or form an idea; perceive is about awareness, not invention.
Opposites
Word family
- perception noun
- the way something is seen, heard, or understood
- perceptive adjective
- quick to notice or understand things
- perceptible adjective
- able to be noticed
- perceptibly adverb
- in a way that can be noticed
Commonly confused: perceive or conceive?
perceive vs conceive
Perceive is to become aware; conceive is to imagine or create an idea, and spelling differs after per-/con-.
Practice
Choose the best completion: Many employees ___ the new schedule ___ inflexible.
Choose one answer.
Perceive something as something is the set pattern for judgment; conceive as means imagine, and notice as is less idiomatic here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “perceive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.