Word of the Day

: January 16, 2007

perceptible

adjective per-SEP-tuh-bul

What It Means

: capable of being perceived especially by the senses

perceptible in Context

The smell of onions in the kitchen was barely perceptible to me, but Laura found it overwhelmingly pungent.

Did You Know?

If something is "perceptible," you can "capture" it with your senses. "Perceptible" traces back to the Latin word "capere," which means "to take," combined with the prefix "per-," which means "thoroughly." It shares the "capere" part of its ancestry with a number of other English words related to seizing or being seized, including "capture," "captor," "captivate," and even "catch."