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
On the one hand, content perceived as liberal or critical of the government often faces backlash from various elements.
—Taran Khan, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
In a process called simultaneous contrast, our brain perceives colored objects in relation to the color of the background that they’re viewed against.
—Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026
In a recent interview with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had deliberately capped its missile range at around 1,250 miles, arguing that Tehran did not seek to be perceived as a global threat.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
Their lawsuit is the latest in a series of court challenges to a personnel purge under FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted agents who either contributed to investigations of the Republican president or were perceived as out of step with the administration's agenda.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for perceive
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Taran Khan, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
In a process called simultaneous contrast, our brain perceives colored objects in relation to the color of the background that they’re viewed against.
—Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026
In a recent interview with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had deliberately capped its missile range at around 1,250 miles, arguing that Tehran did not seek to be perceived as a global threat.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 22 Mar. 2026
Their lawsuit is the latest in a series of court challenges to a personnel purge under FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted agents who either contributed to investigations of the Republican president or were perceived as out of step with the administration's agenda.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for perceive
Cite this Entry
“Perceive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perceive. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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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