Meanings
plural percipiences
- uncountableusuallyperception
- uncountableusuallyThe state or condition of being highly perceptive, as if in an almost hypnotic or telepathic state.
She lay in a state of percipience without volition, and the rustle of the straw and the cutting of the ears by the others had the weight of bodily touches.
1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles., archived from the original on 11 Aug 20141 more example
Percipience is sometimes increased, with individuals observing that they are more astute in judging people, in seeing patterns in data, or in reading “micro-expressions of people” and nonverbal interpersonal nuances (e.g., “I think everyone is a lot happier,” “I judge people’s body language more accurately”).
2014, Gordon Parker, (Please provide the book title or journal name)
Origin
- Latinpercipiens
- Englishpercipience
From percipient, itself from the Latin percipiens, the past participle of percipere (“to perceive”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
percipience. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/percipience
“percipience.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/percipience. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “percipience,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/percipience.
Source: percipience on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.