suspect
Americanverb (used with object)
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to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof.
to suspect a person of murder.
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to doubt or mistrust.
I suspect his motives.
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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)
noun
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a person who is suspected, especially one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like.
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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
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(tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof
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(tr) to think false, questionable, etc
she suspected his sincerity
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable
to suspect fraud
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(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
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suspectsimple
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suspectssimple
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have suspectedperfect
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has suspectedperfect
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am suspectingprogressive
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are suspectingprogressive
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is suspectingprogressive
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have been suspectingperfect progressive
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has been suspectingperfect progressive
Past
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suspectedsimple
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had suspectedperfect
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was suspectingprogressive
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were suspectingprogressive
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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:
That logic was already suspect, as it’s tough to claim that taxpayer dollars are being “wasted” on technologies aimed at keeping the planet suitable for human habitation.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Details on a suspect or motive weren’t immediately available.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The main suspect, Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese heritage, was shot and killed by police on Sunday.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Hours later, police posted on social media that they had arrested a male suspect in connection with the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Like, she has to suspect something by now?”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
The university suspects foul play, and said its Division of Public Safety & Security had been dispatched to investigate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Under California law, murder charges for 16-year-old suspects must be filed initially in juvenile court; however, prosecutors can then petition a judge to transfer the case to adult court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The police spokesperson said the investigation was still in progress due to "its complexity and the number of suspects involved".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
All this happens after Zack turns up with a missing toe, which Anna suspects Max orchestrated.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
By drawing on Agent Burger’s findings, White was able to quickly rule out many of the suspects, including Anna’s ex-husband, Oda Brown.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
It said such devices contributed to higher atmospheric pollution of nitrogen oxides that are suspected of "provoking the development of respiratory diseases in humans".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Scientists have long suspected that inherited genetics helps explain these differences, but obtaining direct evidence from human studies has been difficult.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
A vehicle suspected of being used in the attack has been located by police inside the city's Tiergarten park.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Because this type of multipoint investigation is reactive, the product that’s suspected of causing the illness may have already moved through the supply chain into stores or restaurants and has already been consumed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Only now I suspected Gran knew more than she let on, but for some reason, she wanted to keep it from me.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
People outside Wall Street will probably say they don’t know, while those who work in finance, suspecting a trap, may hedge their bets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Movies rarely venture so far into the hearts of ordinary people trying to do their best but suspecting they have made a great many irreparable mistakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
It is a notifiable disease so anyone suspecting their animals may have it must report it to a vet, local divisional veterinary office or to Daera directly.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
This policy, she explains, “tramples the constitutional requirement that officers must have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2025
Jillson glanced at Reynie and Kate, and at Constance in the back, obviously suspecting one of them as a cheating partner.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
