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Definition of "perceive" []

  • To become aware of directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing. (verb-transitive)
  • To achieve understanding of; apprehend. See Synonyms at see1. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "perceive" in a sentence
  • "[H.H. Price, Perception (1932: 106)] “I hold it to be quite certain that I do not directly perceive my hand; and that when I am said (as I may be correctly said) to ˜perceive™ it, that I"
  • "On the other hand he thinks the term perceive 'is being used perfectly literally, and in the same sense in which it is used when we speak of sight and hearing, taste and touch as perception."
  • "All we can perceive is filtered through our inner state, anyway, so it's pointless to seek to act elsewhere."