The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Perceive \Per*ceive"\ (p[~e]r*s[=e]v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Perceived (p[~e]r*s[=e]vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Perceiving.]
   [OF. percevoir, perceveir, L. percipere, perceptum; per (see
   Per-) + capere to take, receive. See Capacious, and cf.
   Perception.]
   1. To obtain knowledge of through the senses; to receive
      impressions from by means of the bodily organs; to take
      cognizance of the existence, character, or identity of, by
      means of the senses; to see, hear, or feel; as, to
      perceive a distant ship; to perceive a discord. --Reid.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To take intellectual cognizance of; to apprehend by the
      mind; to be convinced of by direct intuition; to note; to
      remark; to discern; to see; to understand.
      [1913 Webster]

            Jesus perceived their wickedness.     --Matt. xxii.
                                                  18.
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            You may, fair lady,
            Perceive I speak sincerely.           --Shak.
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            Till we ourselves see it with our own eyes, and
            perceive it by our own understandings, we are still
            in the dark.                          --Locke.
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   3. To be affected of influented by. [R.]
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            The upper regions of the air perceive the collection
            of the matter of tempests before the air here below.
                                                  --Bacon.
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   Syn: To discern; distinguish; observe; see; feel; know;
        understand.

   Usage: To Perceive, Discern. To perceive a thing is to
          apprehend it as presented to the senses or the
          intellect; to discern is to mark differences, or to
          see a thing as distinguished from others around it. We
          may perceive two persons afar off without being able
          to discern whether they are men or women. Hence,
          discern is often used of an act of the senses or the
          mind involving close, discriminating, analytical
          attention. We perceive that which is clear or obvious;
          we discern that which requires much attention to get
          an idea of it. "We perceive light, darkness, colors,
          or the truth or falsehood of anything. We discern
          characters, motives, the tendency and consequences of
          actions, etc." --Crabb.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

perceive
    v 1: to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive
         the ship coming over the horizon" [syn: perceive,
         comprehend]
    2: become conscious of; "She finally perceived the futility of
       her protest"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

102 Moby Thesaurus words for "perceive":
   appreciate, apprehend, ascertain, be acquainted with,
   be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of,
   be conversant with, be informed, be sensible of, behold, believe,
   catch on, catch sight of, clap eyes on, cognize, come alive,
   comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, conclude, consider,
   contemplate, decipher, deduce, deem, descry, detect, determine,
   dig, discern, discover, distinguish, divine, espy, experience,
   fathom, feel, feel deeply, figure out, gather, glimpse, grasp,
   have, have a sensation, have in sight, have information about,
   have knowledge of, hear, identify, infer, judge, ken, know,
   lay eyes on, look on, look upon, make out, mark, mind, note,
   notice, observe, penetrate, pick out, pick up, pierce, plumb,
   possess, prehend, realize, receive an impression, recognize,
   regard, remark, respond, respond to stimuli, savvy, see,
   see daylight, see into, see the light, see through, seize, sense,
   sight, signal, smell, spot, spy, take, take in, taste, think,
   touch, twig, understand, view, witness, wot, wot of