3 uses
- The murderous potential can become activated, especially if some disequilibrium is already present, when the victim-to-be is unconsciously perceived as a key figure in some past traumatic configuration.4 — The Corner (54% in)
- It was a passable likeness, and the artist perceived one not very obvious aspect of the sitter's countenance-its mischief, an amused, babyish malice that suggested some unkind cupid aiming envenomed arrows.2 — Persons Unknown (53% in)
- The behavior, or even the mere presence, of this figure adds a stress to the unstable balance of forces that results in a sudden extreme discharge of violence, similar to the explosion that takes place when a percussion cap ignites a charge of dynamite... The hypothesis of unconscious motivation explains why the murderers perceived innocuous and relatively unknown victims as provocative and thereby suitable targets for aggression.4 — The Corner (54% in)
There are no more uses of "perceive" in In Cold Blood.
Typical Usage
(best examples)