Meanings
-ception1
- Neural reception.
-ception2
- slangCombined with a noun to indicate a layering, nesting, or recursion of the referent.
Playception: Each actor must portray a character playing another character.
2012, Maura Breen, "Latest play presents challenge for actors", Tan & Cardinal (Otterbein University), Volume 94, Issue 5, 26 September 2012, page 4 (image caption)2 more examples
Adapted from David Mitchell's novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is a story-ception; a post apocalyptic campfire story about a guy watching a movie in which someone reads a novel whose main character follows a series of letters.
2012 September 10, Timothy Morrise, “Reviewer previews his top picks for fall movie season”, in University Journal, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2025, page 6Seen any horrendous foodceptions you just can't wrap your head around (like pasta burritos)?
2013 November, Kelly Herman, “Foodception: A Review”, in Campus Talk, published 2013, page 9
Origin
-ception · suffix
Back-formed from words such as nociception and proprioception.
Full word history & related roots →-ception · suffix
Rebracketing of inception coined with reference to the 2010 science fiction film of the same title, the plot of which involves a team of people infiltrating someone's subconscious mind, proceeding through several layers of dreams in the process.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
-ception. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ception
“-ception.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ception. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ception,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ception.
Source: -ception on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.