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• sus
  sus

  adjective

  suspicious: She says they’re just friends, but she’s been acting pretty sus around my boyfriend.
• sus-
  sus-

  variant of sub- before c, p, t: susceptible.

sus

¹ American  

[suhs] / sʌs /

adjective

Slang.

1. suspicious: She says they’re just friends, but she’s been acting pretty sus around my boyfriend.

   He called in sick on the day we all had to stay late for inventory, which seemed a little bit sus to me.

   She says they’re just friends, but she’s been acting pretty sus around my boyfriend.

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sus- ² American  

1. variant of sub- before c, p, t: susceptible.

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sus British  

/ sʌs /

noun

1. suspicion

2. a suspect

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adjective

1. suspicious

verb

1. a variant spelling of suss

Etymology

Origin of sus

First recorded in 1935–40; shortening of suspicious ( def. ); see also suss ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sus sus-

The following year it was sneaky Canadian Shania Twain and a sus character from England referred to only as Sting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026

Numa dies clutching a piece of paper that paraphrases John 15:13 in the Bible: “No hay amor más grande que el que de la vida por sus amigos.”

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024

There had already been riots in Brixton that April, over the increased use of a new stop-and-search policy, the so-called sus law, which was named Operation Swamp.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2022

Now “’swonderful” and “’smarvelous” May suit you to a T. But “fash” and “pash” and all the rest – They just seem sus to me.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2022

Because brainy little Grace had said that tomorrow “mi tio hara que sus antepasados se sientan muy, muy orgullosos.”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Sometimes in jails like this, the guards resist uncuffing clients, arguing that it’s not safe or permitted to take the handcuffs off a sus- pect during a legal visit.

From MSNBC ● Oct. 22, 2014

His technical point will presumably be sus- tained when Messrs. Atlee Pomerene and Owen J. Roberts, Government counsel, appeal to a higher court.

From Time Magazine Archive

And so, at midnight August 1, the strike—technically a mere "sus- pension" due to expiration of all existing wage agreements—began.

From Time Magazine Archive

In "sustain" sus- is a contraction of subs- for sub-.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

In "sustain" sus- is a contraction of subs- for sub-. subter- = under or beneath subter-fuge a flying under. super- = above or over super-natural super-vise above nature. to over-see.

From New Word-Analysis Or, School Etymology of English Derivative Words by William Swinton