perceived; perceiving; perceives
1
a
: to attain awareness or understanding of
b
: to regard as being such
was perceived as a loser
Examples of perceive in a Sentence
We perceive by means of the kaleidoscopic mirror of this life. This means that our ability to perceive is at once tyrannized by our expectations, and at war with them.
—
James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1985
Standing in the hallway just out of sight during this interview was Sarah. She held her baby on her hip and she listened. She perceived as no one in the family could the enormity of the misfortune.
—E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974
… and when they perceived her to be little struck with the duet they were so good as to play, they could do no more than make her a generous present of some of their least valued toys, and leave her to herself, while they adjourned to whatever might be the favourite holiday sport of the moment, making artificial flowers or wasting gold paper.
—Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
I thought I perceived a problem, but I wasn't sure.
perceived that it was going to be a nice day
James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1985
Standing in the hallway just out of sight during this interview was Sarah. She held her baby on her hip and she listened. She perceived as no one in the family could the enormity of the misfortune.
—E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974
… and when they perceived her to be little struck with the duet they were so good as to play, they could do no more than make her a generous present of some of their least valued toys, and leave her to herself, while they adjourned to whatever might be the favourite holiday sport of the moment, making artificial flowers or wasting gold paper.
—Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814
I thought I perceived a problem, but I wasn't sure.
perceived that it was going to be a nice day
Recent Examples on the Web
In the Celebrity Family Feud sketch, Grande as Lawrence encapsulates how fans began to perceive the Oscar winner.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025
The event was exclusively catered to 14 to 22-year-olds, and GloRilla’s set was interrupted after what fans perceived to be a bottle was thrown on stage.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2025
Researchers in Sweden have developed a display technology with the smallest pixels ever made, capable of producing the highest resolution the human eye can perceive.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
The rest of the symptoms can often be traced to other ingredients in wheat – especially fructans, a type of fermentable carbohydrate in the FODMAP family – or to the brain’s powerful influence on how the gut perceives distress.
—New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perceive
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Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025
The event was exclusively catered to 14 to 22-year-olds, and GloRilla’s set was interrupted after what fans perceived to be a bottle was thrown on stage.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2025
Researchers in Sweden have developed a display technology with the smallest pixels ever made, capable of producing the highest resolution the human eye can perceive.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
The rest of the symptoms can often be traced to other ingredients in wheat – especially fructans, a type of fermentable carbohydrate in the FODMAP family – or to the brain’s powerful influence on how the gut perceives distress.
—New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perceive
Cite this Entry
“Perceive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perceive. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perceive
verb
per·ceive
pər-ˈsēv 
perceived; perceiving
2
: to become aware of through the senses and especially through sight
perceiver
noun
Medical Definition
perceive
transitive verb
per·ceive
pər-ˈsēv
perceived; perceiving
: to become aware of through the senses
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