Perceive vs Observe - What's the difference?
perceive | observe |
To see, to be aware of, to understand.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
, author=Colin Allen
, title=Do I See What You See?
, volume=100, issue=2, page=168
, magazine=(American Scientist)
(lb) To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
:
*1892 , (Arthur Conan Doyle),
*:“One horse?” interjected Holmes. ¶ “Yes, only one.” ¶ “Did you observe the colour?”
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=Frank Fish, George Lauder
, volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist)
, title= (lb) To follow or obey the custom, practice, or rules (especially of a religion).
:
*Bible, (w)
*:Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread.
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
, title= (lb) To comment on something; to make an observation.
:
*
*:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed , lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
As verbs the difference between perceive and observe
is that perceive is to see, to be aware of, to understand while observe is to notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.perceive
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete)Verb
citation, passage=Numerous experimental tests and other observations have been offered in favor of animal mind reading, and although many scientists are skeptical, others assert that humans are not the only species capable of representing what others do and don’t perceive and know.}}
Synonyms
* (l)References
*observe
English
Verb
(observ)Not Just Going with the Flow, passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report, passage=A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward. }}