suspect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
suspects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suspected,
past participle, past
-
suspecting
present participle
-
to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof.
to suspect a person of murder.
-
to doubt or mistrust.
I suspect his motives.
-
to believe to be the case or to be likely or probable; surmise.
I suspect his knowledge did not amount to much.
- Synonyms:
- suppose, conjecture, guess
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to have some hint or foreknowledge of.
I think she suspected the surprise.
verb (used without object)
-
suspects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suspected,
past participle, past
-
suspecting
present participle
noun
-
suspects
plural
-
a person who is suspected, especially one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like.
-
an animal or thing that is suspected to be the cause of something bad: The cause of the disease was not confirmed, but the suspect was an insect.
Investigators focused on faulty wiring as a suspect in the house fire.
The cause of the disease was not confirmed, but the suspect was an insect.
adjective
idioms
verb
-
(tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof
-
(tr) to think false, questionable, etc
she suspected his sincerity
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable
to suspect fraud
-
(intr) to have suspicion
noun
adjective
Usage
What does sus mean? Sus is a shortening of suspicious or suspect. In slang, it has the sense of "questionable" or "shady."
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsuspectnoun
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suspecternoun
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presuspectverb (used with object)
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suspectibleadjective
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suspectlessadjective
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unsuspectingadjective
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unsuspectinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
suspectsimple
-
suspectssimple
-
have suspectedperfect
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has suspectedperfect
-
am suspectingprogressive
-
are suspectingprogressive
-
is suspectingprogressive
-
have been suspectingperfect progressive
-
has been suspectingperfect progressive
Past
-
suspectedsimple
-
had suspectedperfect
-
was suspectingprogressive
-
were suspectingprogressive
-
had been suspectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of suspect
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective) from Latin suspectus, past participle of suspicere “to look up, look and see, regard with mistrust,” equivalent to su- “under, below, beneath” + -spicere, combining form of specere “to see, observe, keep an eye on, take into consideration”; (verb) partly from the adjective, partly from Middle French suspecter “to hold suspect,” or directly from Latin suspectāre, frequentative of suspicere; see su-
Explanation
A suspect is a person who is believed to be guilty of a crime. If you leave the scene of a murder with blood on your hands and a weapon in your pocket, you’re likely to become a prime suspect. If others believe you have committed a crime, you are a suspect. The word can also be used as a verb and an adjective. To suspect someone of something is to believe that they probably did it. Do you ever suspect your parents of taking some of your Halloween candy? If something such as someone's excuse or motive is suspect, it seems a bit off. That bad-smelling piece of fish is suspect — you'd better not eat it.
Vocabulary lists containing suspect
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Warwickshire Police said it took all reports of tool theft "very seriously", but a suspect could not be identified in this case.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
“We suspect the reason is that influenza antibodies are shaped by lifetime exposure histories,” Bloom said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
I suspect the live-in caregiver is benefiting from my parent’s generosity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Those who suspect they have Lewy body dementia symptoms should contact a neurologist or a clinician trained in either geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry for an evaluation, Vossel said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“I suspect your future husband will be dodging a great many teacups then.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Police said they had arrested three suspects, but the election commission described the incident as an isolated local case.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
Lee told reporters this week that he suspects Pike’s sentence “will be the same as it was before, unless determined otherwise by the courts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Police investigating ongoing home burglaries in the still-rebuilding Palisades have been able to identify suspects, she said, in part because license plate readers frequently capture the getaway vehicles used by burglars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Police have detained or arrested 10 suspects, with investigators tracing alleged weapon deliveries through several states and examining payments made to the alleged attackers.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The idea was eventually nixed, and in 2012, the suspects were arraigned again.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
The findings were submitted in litigation brought by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, which is challenging the administration’s efforts to use federal immigration data to identify suspected noncitizen voters.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
Researchers suspected that another molecule was helping the toxin reach its target, but repeated attempts to identify it had failed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
The scale of the suspected fraud is significant.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The warnings that the institute received, which online records show date to 2015, were issued after the regulator suspected or had evidence of a violation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Simon and Penelope suspected that the unreadable diary of the ill-fated trip to Ahwoo-Ahwoo might have described the same voyage taken by Pudge and the admiral, and might even have been written by Pudge himself.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
She’s engaging in a piece of phantasmagoric performance art with two raging megalomaniacs, suspecting humanity buried beneath their easygoing subterfuge.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
“They must be suspecting me of defending Articles 29 and 23 of the Russian Constitution—which guarantee freedom of speech and the right to private correspondence,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Still, it’s worth noting that Sink’s role has been the subject of much speculation, with fans suspecting she would play Marvel-verse X-Men telekinetic and telepath Jean Grey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"It has been quieter for a bit, but I don't know if that's linked," a doubtful Yulia says, suspecting the strikes will restart at any moment.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
Kote nodded, almost as if he had been suspecting the news.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
