perceive

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/pərˈsiːv/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pɚˈsiv/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pər sēv)

Inflections of 'perceive' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
perceives
v 3rd person singular
perceiving
v pres p
perceived
v past
perceived
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
per•ceive /pɚˈsiv/USA pronunciation   v., -ceived, -ceiv•ing. 
    [not: be + ~-ing]
  1. to become aware of or identify by the senses:[+ object]Some artists perceive very subtle differences in shade and tone.
  2. to recognize or understand: [+ object]I perceive difficulties in putting your idea into practice.[+ that clause]He perceived that there would be difficulties.
per•ceiv•a•ble, adj. See -ceive-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
per•ceive  (pər sēv),USA pronunciation v.t., -ceived, -ceiv•ing. 
  1. to become aware of, know, or identify by means of the senses:I perceived an object looming through the mist.
  2. to recognize, discern, envision, or understand:I perceive a note of sarcasm in your voice. This is a nice idea but I perceive difficulties in putting it into practice.
  • Latin percipere to lay hold of, grasp, equivalent. to per- per- + -cipere, combining form of capere to take
  • Anglo-French *perceivre, for perçoivre
  • 1250–1300; Middle English perceiven
per•ceiv•ed•ly  (pər sēvid lē, -sēvd-),USA pronunciation adv.  per•ceived•ness, n. 
per•ceiver, n. 
per•ceiving•ness, n. 
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged note, discover, observe, descry, distinguish. See notice. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
perceive / pəˈsiːv/
  1. to become aware of (something) through the senses, esp the sight; recognize or observe
  2. (tr; may take a clause as object) to come to comprehend; grasp
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French perçoivre, from Latin percipere seize entirely, from per- (thoroughly) + capere to graspperˈceivableperˈceivably
'perceive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: perceive a [threat, danger], is perceived to be a [threat], perceived to be the [best, worst, most effective], more...

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