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Anastasiya
Usage of adj "perceptive" Dear all, I'm trying to figure out how to use "perceptive". According to Merriam-webster dictionary "perceptive" means: 1: responsive to sensory stimuli : DISCERNING (a perceptive eye) 2a: capable of or exhibiting keen perception : OBSERVANT {a perceptive scholar} b: characterized by sympathetic understanding or insight. I wonder can we describe a person as a perceptive one if he/she catches immidiately what you're trying to say. So the person understands you on that level, when can continue your phrase. And understands your feelings. We can say "it's so kind of you", so is it correct to say "it's so perceptive of you"? It sounds a bit weird to me :D Or should I say "You're being so perceptive"? if it's not correct, then how to react in this case? What should I say so it'd sound naturally?
Jan 24, 2020 7:19 AM
Answers · 2
1
All of your examples are very good. However perceptive cannot be used instead of "kind". That is a very different thing. The best way to use the word perceptive is as a synonym of "quick" - meaning that you get the idea very quickly, perhaps even before it was mentioned. It is very common in Business English - with friends its maybe a bit more unusual, I often describe my friends as empathic or intuitive, I rarely use perceptive.
January 24, 2020
You can use it to describe someone who can speculate something from some information. For example: Person 1: I think Mandy will be our new manager. Person 2: What makes you say that? P1: Well, she's been undergoing 1-on-1 training with upper management and I know she applied for the position before. P2: You may be right. That's quite perceptive of you.
January 24, 2020
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