pə(r)ˈseptiv, -tēv adjective
Etymology: percept ion + -ive
1. : responsive to sensory stimulus : sharp , discerning
a perceptive eye
the children developed a taste that was as perceptive as her own — S.N.Behrman
2.
a. : capable of or exhibiting keen perception : observant , knowing
here the moralist … has overcome the artist who can be so perceptive — M.D.Geismar
a wise and perceptive scholar who knows how to relate the past to the present — L.C.Eiseley
b. : characterized by sympathetic understanding or insight : sensitive , penetrating
effective music and … perceptive staging — Time
one of the most perceptive essays by one of our poets about another — F.O.Matthiessen
an eloquent and warmly perceptive exploration … of intimate human relationships — John Nerber
• per·cep·tive·ly -tə̇vlē, -li adverb