Other forms: perceived, perceives, perceiving
To perceive something is to become aware of it, through the senses or through understanding. Noticing that it is there.
The word covers both a sound at the edge of hearing and a shift in somebody's mood, which is a wide range. It is more formal than notice and it often introduces a judgement, so perceiving a threat means interpreting as well as detecting. The noun is perception, and a perceived problem is one people believe in whether or not it is real. Perceptive describes somebody good at noticing.
1verbperceiveTo become aware of something through the senses.
“He perceived a faint movement at the window.”
2verbunderstandTo understand or regard something in a particular way.
“The changes were perceived as a threat.”
Also accepted in games: notice
To perceive is to take hold of. Latin percipiō joins per, through, to capiō, to take, so perceiving is a seizing rather than a passive receiving.
Proto-Indo-European
*keh₂p-
Latin
percipiō
Old French
percevoir
Middle English
perceyven
English, today
perceive
Built from
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.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA