One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Synonyms of perceive in English:
perceive
See definition of perceive
verb
1‘Belinda immediately perceived the flaws in her story’
discern, recognize, become cognizant of, become aware of, become conscious of, come to know, get to know, tell, distinguish, grasp, understand, take in, make out, find, identify, hit on, comprehend, apprehend, figure out, deduce, conclude, see, discover, learn, appreciate, realize, ascertain, sense, divine, intuit
informal catch on to, have an aha moment
British informal twig
rare cognize
2‘sharks and rays cannot perceive colour’
see, make out, pick out, discern, detect, catch sight of, spot, observe, glimpse, notice, recognize, identify
hear, smell, sniff, sniff out, scent, nose out, feel, taste, sense
3‘he was perceived as too negative’
look on, view, regard, consider, think of, judge, deem, appraise, assess, adjudge, figure, figure out, size up, value, rate, suppose, think, sum up, weigh up