perception

per·cep·tion

noun \pər-ˈsep-shən\

Definition of PERCEPTION

1

a : a result of perceiving : observation (see perceive)

b : a mental image : concept

2

obsolete : consciousness

3

a : awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation <color perception>

b : physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience

4

a : quick, acute, and intuitive cognition : appreciation

b : a capacity for comprehension

— per·cep·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

Examples of PERCEPTION

1. <a writer of considerable perception, she remembers how it feels to be confused and insecure>
2. <a growing perception of the enormity of the problem>
3. It is ironic that the impact of smoking on nonsmokers, rather than on smokers themselves, is what finally transformed the regulation and cultural perception of the cigarette. —Allan M. Brandt, The Cigarette Century, 2007
4. Some drugs cause blurred vision and changes in color perception, or increased tears. —Sallie Tisdale, Harper's, June 2007
5. The urge of these acolytes is not dramatic but mercantile—to traduce all personal history, to subvert all perception or insight, into gain, or the hope of gain. —David Mamet, Jafsie and John Henry Essays, 1999
6. Everything is research for the sake of erudition. No one is taught to value himself for nice perception and cultivated taste. —Robert Frost, letter, 2 Jan. 1915

Origin of PERCEPTION

Latin perception-, perceptio act of perceiving, from percipere (see perceive)

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to PERCEPTION

Synonyms

discernment, insight, wisdom, perceptiveness, perceptivity, sagaciousness, sagacity, sageness, sapience

Antonyms

incomprehension, noncomprehension

Related Words

acuity, acumen, astuteness, clear-sightedness, keenness, penetration, percipience, perspicacity, sensitivity, understanding; appreciation, apprehension, comprehension, grasp; brain(s), braininess, brightness, brilliance, canniness, cleverness, gray matter, intellect, intelligence, judgment (or judgement), mentality, power, reason, sense, smartness, wit; discrimination, foresight, foresightedness, judiciousness, prudence, sanity; logic, rationality

Near Antonyms

density, dullness (also dulness), obtuseness; brainlessness, folly, foolishness, idiocy, imbecility, mindlessness, silliness, simplemindedness, simpleness, stupidity, witlessness; illogic, irrationality, unreasonableness, unsoundness; craziness, insanity, lunacy, madness; preposterousness, senselessness, silliness, zaniness

See Synonym Discussion at discernment

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with PERCEPTION

conception, deception, exception, inception, reception, subreption

per·cep·tion

noun \pər-ˈsep-shən\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of PERCEPTION

: awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation <color perception> <some sensation of perception of the extremity after amputation is felt by 98% of patients—Orthopedics & Traumatic Surgery>—compare sensation 1a

perception

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Process of registering sensory stimuli as meaningful experience. The differences between sensation and perception have varied according to how the terms are defined. A common distinction is that sensations are simple sensory experiences, while percepts are complex constructions of simple elements joined through association. Another is that perception is more subject to the influence of learning. Though hearing, smell, touch, and taste perceptions have all been explored, vision has received the most attention. Structuralist researchers such as Edward Bradford Titchener focused on the constituent elements of visual perceptions, whereas Gestalt psychology has stressed the need to examine organized wholes, believing humans are disposed to identifying patterns. Visual objects tend to appear stable despite continually changing stimulus features (such as ambient light, perspective, ground vs. figure arrangement), which enables an observer to match a perceived object with the object as it is understood to exist. Perceptions may be influenced by expectations, needs, unconscious ideas, values, and conflicts.