suspect
verb (used with object)
to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof.
had suspected
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past perfectof suspect.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
The grad students were learning what dementia researchers had suspected for years: With FTD, embarrassment, or shame, disappears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Clement Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, said on X that the company had suspected the cyberattack had come from a world-leading AI lab, given the sophistication of the agent.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
He was then very confused when he received the warning letter last month and initially thought that the DMV had suspected him of cheating because he completed the test very quickly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Although scientists had suspected gravitational collapse played a role in forming contact binaries, previous models lacked the detailed physics needed to test the idea thoroughly.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026
As Harry had suspected it would be, the common room was jam-packed.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
