perceived

/pərˈsivd/

If you sense something is true by instinct, but not necessarily by fact, you can describe that sense as perceived. If you suspect that your neighbor's dog might be dangerous, you can say the dog is a perceived threat to your family's safety.

The adjective perceived has its Latin roots in per, meaning "thoroughly," and capere, meaning "to grasp." Today it retains a sense of grasping something mentally or sensing it. Oddly, the word has two conflicting meanings: first, something you infer or suspect, rather than detecting with your senses. The second meaning, however, is quite the opposite: something sensed through your actual senses, especially those of sight or hearing.

Definitions of perceived

1. adjective

   detected by instinct or inference rather than by recognized perceptual cues
   “a perceived threat”

   synonyms: sensed

   detected

   perceived or discerned
2. adjective

   detected by means of the senses
   “a perceived difference in temperature”

   synonyms:

   detected

   perceived or discerned