perceive

perceive
perceive
is widely used somewhat pretentiously in the sense ‘consider’ or ‘regard’:

• The economic, social, and psychological costs of becoming pregnant and having a child while on public assistance are perceived as clearly outweighing the benefits —A. Bryman, 2004.

Although this use is well established, and is recorded without comment in the COD (2006), it is often an unnecessary Latinate alternative for the perfectly good English word see, which could have been used in the example just given with no loss of meaning or effect. Perceive carries with it a substantial baggage of philosophical and psychological implications from which the simpler word see is free. If see won't do, consider and regard are also nearly always better choices.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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Synonyms:

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  • Perceive — Per*ceive , v. t. [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 Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • perceive — I verb apperceive, appreciate, apprehend, awaken, be acquainted with, be apprized of, be attentive to, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be informed of, be sensitive to, become aware of, become conscious of, cognize, cognoscere, come …   Law dictionary

  • perceive — [v1] notice, see apperceive, apprehend, be aware of, behold, descry, discern, discover, distinguish, divine, espy, feel, grasp, identify, look, make out, mark, mind, note, observe, realize, recognize, regard, remark, seize, sense, spot, spy,… …   New thesaurus

  • perceive — (v.) c.1300, via Anglo Fr. parceif, O.N.Fr. *perceivre (O.Fr. perçoivre), from L. percipere obtain, gather, also, metaphorically, to grasp with the mind, lit. to take entirely, from per thoroughly (see PER (Cf. per)) + capere to grasp, take (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • perceive — discern, note, remark, notice, observe, contemplate, *see, behold, descry, espy, view, survey Analogous words: grasp, seize, *take: *apprehend, comprehend: *enter, penetrate, pierce, probe …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • perceive — ► VERB 1) become aware or conscious of through the senses. 2) regard as. DERIVATIVES perceivable adjective perceiver noun. ORIGIN Old French perçoivre, from Latin percipere seize, understand …   English terms dictionary

  • perceive — [pər sēv′] vt., vi. perceived, perceiving [ME perceyven < OFr perceivre < L percipere, to take hold of, feel, comprehend < per, through + capere, to take: see HAVE] 1. to grasp mentally; take note (of); observe 2. to become aware (of)… …   English World dictionary

  • perceive — 01. Unfortunately, many second language students seem to [perceive] language learning as something that can be achieved in a few months, whereas in reality, it is a life long process. 02. Children do not always [perceive] the relationship between …   Grammatical examples in English

  • perceive — verb (transitive not in progressive) 1 to understand or think of something in a particular way: perceive that: People now perceive that green issues are important to our future. | perceive sth as sth: Holly began to perceive her father as a loser …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • perceive */*/ — UK [pə(r)ˈsiːv] / US [pərˈsɪv] verb [transitive] Word forms perceive : present tense I/you/we/they perceive he/she/it perceives present participle perceiving past tense perceived past participle perceived 1) [often passive] to understand or think …   English dictionary

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