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suggestion

[suh g-jes-chuh n, suh-]
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noun
  1. the act of suggesting.
  2. the state of being suggested.
  3. something suggested, as a piece of advice: We made the suggestion that she resign.
  4. a slight trace: He speaks with a suggestion of a foreign accent.
  5. the calling up in the mind of one idea by another by virtue of some association or of some natural connection between the ideas.
  6. the idea thus called up.
  7. Psychology.
    1. the process of inducing a thought, sensation, or action in a receptive person without using persuasion and without giving rise to reflection in the recipient.
    2. the thought, sensation, or action induced in this way.
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Origin of suggestion

1300–50; Middle English suggestio(u)n incitement to evil < Medieval Latin suggestiōn- (stem of suggestiō), Latin: act of supplying an answer or hint, equivalent to suggest(us) (see suggest) + -iōn- -ion
Related formscoun·ter·sug·ges·tion, nounnon·sug·ges·tion, nounpre·sug·ges·tion, nounself-sug·ges·tion, noun

Synonym study

1, 3. See advice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for suggestion

resolution, instruction, tip, idea, invitation, motion, charge, proposition, recommendation, opinion, proposal, approach, thought, suspicion, indication, notion, brainchild, injunction, thesis, pitch

Examples from the Web for suggestion

Contemporary Examples of suggestion

Historical Examples of suggestion

  • The elder Milbrey, too, had met her at his son's suggestion.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • At Percival's suggestion of a walk, Miss Milbrey was delighted.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • There is one spot in Harrogate that has a suggestion of the early days of the town.

  • The main point is that I hoped she might have a suggestion to make about Hester.

  • The young man caught at the suggestion, and wanted to help carry it out.

British Dictionary definitions for suggestion

suggestion

noun
  1. something that is suggested
  2. a hint or indicationa suggestion of the odour of violets
  3. psychol the process whereby the mere presentation of an idea to a receptive individual leads to the acceptance of that ideaSee also autosuggestion
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for suggestion

n.

mid-14c., "a prompting to evil," from Anglo-French and Old French suggestioun, from Latin suggestionem (nominative suggestio) "an addition, intimation, suggestion," from suggestus, past participle of suggerere "suggest, supply, bring up," from sub "up" (see sub-) + gerere "bring, carry" (see gest). Sense evolution in Latin is from "heap up, build" to "bring forward an idea." Meaning "proposal" appeared by late 14c., but original English notion of "evil prompting" is preserved in suggestive (1630s, though the indecent aspect did not emerge until 1888). Hypnotism sense is from 1887.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
suggestion in Medicine

suggestion

(səg-jĕs′chən, sə-jĕs′-)
n.
  1. Implanting of an idea in the mind of another by a word or act so as to influence conduct or physical condition.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.