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Definition of perceptions - 2 dictionary results

per⋅cep⋅tion

[per-sep-shuhn]
–noun
1. the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
2. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment: an artist of rare perception.
3. the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; percept.
4. Psychology. a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.
5. Law. the taking into possession of rents, crops, profits, etc.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME percepcioun (< OF percepcïon) < L perceptiōn- (s. of perceptiō) comprehension, lit., a taking in. See percept, -ion


per⋅cep⋅tion⋅al, adjective


1. awareness, sense, recognition.
per·cep·tion   (pər-sěp'shən)   
n.  
  1. The process, act, or faculty of perceiving.
  2. The effect or product of perceiving.
  3. Psychology
    1. Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory.
    2. The neurological processes by which such recognition and interpretation are effected.
    3. Insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving.
    4. The capacity for such insight.
    1. Insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving.
    2. The capacity for such insight.

[Middle English percepcioun, from Old French percepcion, from Latin perceptiō, perceptiōn-, from perceptus, past participle of percipere, to perceive; see perceive.]
per·cep'tion·al adj.
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