suspect

American  

[suh-spekt, suhs-pekt, suhs-pekt, suh-spekt] / səˈspɛkt, ˈsʌs pɛkt, ˈsʌs pɛkt, səˈspɛkt /

verb (used with object)

1. to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof.

   to suspect a person of murder.

2. to doubt or mistrust.

   I suspect his motives.

3. 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

4. to have some hint or foreknowledge of.

   I think she suspected the surprise.

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verb (used without object)

1. to believe something, especially something evil or wrong, to be the case; have suspicion.

noun

1. a person who is suspected, especially one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like.

2. 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

1. suspected; open to or under suspicion.

idioms

1. the usual suspects, the people, animals, or things that are commonly associated with a particular activity, situation, etc. (often used facetiously).

   We visited a family farm with sheep and bunnies and roosters and goats—the usual suspects!

suspect British  

verb

1. (tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof

2. (tr) to think false, questionable, etc

   she suspected his sincerity

3. (tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable

   to suspect fraud

4. (intr) to have suspicion

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noun

1. a person who is under suspicion

adjective

1. causing or open to suspicion

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

• nonsuspect noun
• presuspect verb (used with object)
• suspecter noun
• suspectible adjective
• suspectless adjective
• unsuspecting adjective
• unsuspectingly adverb

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; su-

Example Sentences

"We looked at muscle, brain, liver -- all the usual suspects -- but nothing in these organs could explain what was happening."

From Science Daily

Two decades on, Smith says he is sure at least one suspect evaded capture.

From BBC

Not being able to market some of their products is, I suspect, an issue as well.

From The Wall Street Journal

OpenAI banned a ChatGPT account owned by the suspect of a mass shooting in British Columbia more than half a year before the attack took place.

From BBC

Pham said he belongs to a regional dealer network in which members alert one another when burglaries happen nearby, sharing suspect descriptions and stolen inventory lists.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assume
• believe
• consider
• doubt
• presume
• speculate
• think
• wonder