perceptible

perceptible — adjective

1. strong or clear enough for people to notice with their eyes, ears, skin, or mind

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

strong or clear enough for people to notice with their eyes, ears, skin, or mind

Example

A slight gas smell became perceptible after a few minutes.

become perceptible after a delay

There was a perceptible pause before the judge read the result.

there was + perceptible noun

Common collocations
  • perceptible change
  • perceptible pause
  • perceptible smell
  • perceptible improvement
Synonyms
  • noticeable

    more common and often a little stronger in everyday English

  • detectable

    often used for weak signals, changes, or results found by checking

  • observable

    more formal and often used for things that can be seen or measured

Antonyms
  • imperceptible

    used when something is too slight or weak to be noticed

Grammar Patterns

a perceptible change/smell/pause

be barely perceptible

Usage Note

Usually describes something slight rather than striking, so it often suggests careful noticing. Often appears before a noun, but it also follows be with adverbs such as barely and hardly.

Common Mistakes

Mina is very perceptible and spots small errors.
Mina is very perceptive and spots small errors.
'perceptible' describes something that can be noticed, not a person who notices things well.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Perceptible is fairly formal and often suggests something small that can still be noticed if you pay attention. Noticeable is more common in everyday English and often sounds a little stronger. Detectable is common in technical, medical, and scientific contexts, especially when something is found by testing or careful checking. Observable usually focuses on what can be seen or measured from the outside. Obvious is much stronger than perceptible and suggests that almost anyone would notice it at once. You might speak of a perceptible rise in temperature when the change is slight, but an obvious rise when everyone in the room feels it immediately.

noticeable ↗detectableobservableobvious ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become perceptible
  • be perceptible to the eye
  • be perceptible to the ear

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinLate LatinFrenchEnglish

Perceptible came into English from French and Late Latin forms built on Latin percipere, meaning "take in" or "grasp." Over time, the adjective developed the sense of something being able to reach the senses or the mind clearly enough to be noticed.