How to Use perceptive in a Sentence

perceptive

adjective
  • He is a very perceptive young man.
  • At the end of one slide, a colleague asked a very perceptive question.
    — Washington Post, 25 July 2021
  • Even the most perceptive house guest won’t be able to tell there’s a bed hidden behind this shelf.
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 June 2023
  • But the perceptive pop star didn't set out to make an album about a single house party.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 16 June 2017
  • Children, the lawyer said, are often far more perceptive than adults assume.
    — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
  • But just shy of her 10th birthday this month, the girl is perceptive beyond her years.
    — Regina Garcia Cano, ajc, 5 Mar. 2023
  • The show is viciously perceptive, with both a sense of humor and a real dark streak.
    — Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2022
  • This is a succinct and perceptive metaphor for the condition of many of our patients.
    — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2024
  • Some are more empathetic than others, some like to work more and some are more perceptive.
    — Jaclyn Greenberg, Discover Magazine, 25 Dec. 2023
  • Pim is a sensitive and perceptive guide to Roth’s life and his writing.
    — Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2023
  • Yet this stark look at inner-city life found his perceptive powers, while darker, to be as deep as ever.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 9 June 2025
  • The book is rich not just in memorable, strange characters but in fine, perceptive lines.
    — The Economist, 31 May 2018
  • To be so perceptive and yet so innocent—that, in a phrase, is the achievement of Proust.
    — Rosa Inocencio Smith, The Atlantic, 9 July 2017
  • Except that a lot of it isn’t reasoned, or witty, or eloquent, or perceptive.
    — Natalie Daher, Longreads, 4 Apr. 2018
  • The perceptive reader will have already spotted the flaw in my thinking.
    — Pete Wells, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2018
  • The perceptive Lauren will make this point to her sister later.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
  • This lucid and perceptive book is a valuable guide to what is at stake in the ongoing conflict.
    — Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
  • There’s value in being intuitive and perceptive about the things around you.
    — Ashley Oliver, refinery29.com, 11 Oct. 2022
  • Steve [Rattner] wrote a very perceptive op-ed about why these proposals don’t work, or worse.
    — Eben Shapiro, Time, 20 Nov. 2019
  • One of the ways the Chiefs can do that is by taking advantage of his perceptive nature.
    — Terez A. Paylor, kansascity, 6 Sep. 2017
  • The future, in his view, belongs to the prepared, the perceptive and the data driven.
    — Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 21 Nov. 2025
  • Your perceptive nature spots what others miss, so trust instinct and document the change.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2026
  • That line, perceptive and alive, is typical of The Half of It.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 Apr. 2020
  • Some of his fans even compare him to Nas, a perceptive storyteller renowned as one of hip-hop’s best lyricists.
    — Andrew Gospe, The Seattle Times, 11 July 2017
  • The perceptive actress plays someone whose grief has stunted her desire to pursue a career in the arts.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Your perceptive nature reads the room, so adapt tone and timing to land the message and keep momentum moving.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 16 June 2026
  • And some of my youthful impressions turned out to be perceptive about problems that would vex this hall for some 60 years.
    — Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2022
  • Felines may also be more perceptive than many realize.
    — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Speaking of the future, Green is a lot more perceptive than the average fan gives him credit for.
    — Nick Friedell, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Raheem is the quieter but perhaps the more perceptive of the two, and is devoted to Choton.
    — Peter Marks, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perceptive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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