From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perceive \Per*ceive"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Perceived}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Perceiving}.] [OF. percevoir, perceveir, L. percipere, perceptum; per (see {Per-}) + capere to take, receive. See {Capacious}, and cf. {Perception}.]
1. To obtain knowledge of through the senses; to receive impressions from by means of the bodily organs; to take cognizance of the existence, character, or identity of, by means of the senses; to see, hear, or feel; as, to perceive a distant ship; to perceive a discord. --Reid.
2. To take intellectual cognizance of; to apprehend by the mind; to be convinced of by direct intuition; to note; to remark; to discern; to see; to understand.
Jesus perceived their wickedness. --Matt. xxii. 18.
You may, fair lady, Perceive I speak sincerely. --Shak.
Till we ourselves see it with our own eyes, and perceive it by our own understandings, we are still in the dark. --Locke.
3. To be affected of influented by. [R.]
The upper regions of the air perceive the collection of the matter of tempests before the air here below. --Bacon.
Syn: To discern; distinguish; observe; see; feel; know; understand.
Usage: To {Perceive}, {Discern}. To perceive a thing is to apprehend it as presented to the senses or the intellect; to discern is to mark differences, or to see a thing as distinguished from others around it. We may perceive two persons afar off without being able to discern whether they are men or women. Hence, discern is often used of an act of the senses or the mind involving close, discriminating, analytical attention. We perceive that which is clear or obvious; we discern that which requires much attention to get an idea of it. ''We perceive light, darkness, colors, or the truth or falsehood of anything. We discern characters, motives, the tendency and consequences of actions, etc.'' --Crabb.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon" [syn: {comprehend}]
2: become conscious of; "She finally perceived the futility of her protest"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
102 Moby Thesaurus words for "perceive": appreciate, apprehend, ascertain, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be sensible of, behold, believe, catch on, catch sight of, clap eyes on, cognize, come alive, comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, conclude, consider, contemplate, decipher, deduce, deem, descry, detect, determine, dig, discern, discover, distinguish, divine, espy, experience, fathom, feel, feel deeply, figure out, gather, glimpse, grasp, have, have a sensation, have in sight, have information about, have knowledge of, hear, identify, infer, judge, ken, know, lay eyes on, look on, look upon, make out, mark, mind, note, notice, observe, penetrate, pick out, pick up, pierce, plumb, possess, prehend, realize, receive an impression, recognize, regard, remark, respond, respond to stimuli, savvy, see, see daylight, see into, see the light, see through, seize, sense, sight, signal, smell, spot, spy, take, take in, taste, think, touch, twig, understand, view, witness, wot, wot of
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0