Perceive Meaning
/pəˈsiːv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo become aware of, through the physical senses, to see; to understand.
verbTo interpret something in a particular way.
Sentence Examples
I perceive by your face that you have good news.
He could not perceive any difference between the twins.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the dark forest, he tried to ____ the sound of a distant animal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It can be difficult to ____ subtle changes in behavior unless you know the person very well.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English perceyven, borrowed from Old French percevoir, perceveir, from Latin percipiō, past participle perceptus (“take hold of, obtain, receive, observe”), from per (“by, through”) + capiō (“to take”); see capable. Compare conceive, deceive, receive.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 14:7:
"Morton was in fearful time pressure and at first did not realize he was mated. He snatched up his King and swung it around wildly, finally perceiving that there was no square for the critter,"
— 1938 May, Fred Reinfeld, “The US Championship Tournament”, in Chess Review:
"Then our first effort must be to identify the actual words. Only after recognizing them individually can we begin to try to understand them, to struggle with perceiving what they mean."
— 1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 17:
"Numerous experimental tests and other observations have been offered in favor of animal mind reading, and although many scientists are skeptical, others assert that humans are not the only species capable of representing what others do and don’t perceive and know."
— 2012 March-April, Colin Allen, “Do I See What You See?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2012, page 168:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the dark forest, he tried to ____ the sound of a distant animal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It can be difficult to ____ subtle changes in behavior unless you know the person very well.