suggestion
Americannoun
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the act of suggesting.
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the state of being suggested.
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something suggested, as a piece of advice.
We made the suggestion that she resign.
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a slight trace.
He speaks with a suggestion of a foreign accent.
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the calling up in the mind of one idea by another by virtue of some association or of some natural connection between the ideas.
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the idea thus called up.
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Psychology.
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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.
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the thought, sensation, or action induced in this way.
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noun
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something that is suggested
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a hint or indication
a suggestion of the odour of violets
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psychol the process whereby the mere presentation of an idea to a receptive individual leads to the acceptance of that idea See also autosuggestion
Usage
What does suggestion mean?
A suggestion is a proposal, piece of advice, or idea for consideration.
Suggestion is the noun form the verb suggest. Suggestion is often used with the verbs offer and make, as in the common question, Can I make a suggestion?
In psychology, suggestion has a more specific meaning: the process in which the mere presentation of an idea to a receptive person leads to the acceptance of that idea.
Example: After explaining his new business plan, Tom told his colleagues that he was open to suggestions and other feedback.
Related Words
See advice.
Other Word Forms
- countersuggestion noun
- nonsuggestion noun
- presuggestion noun
- self-suggestion noun
Etymology
Origin of suggestion
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English suggestio(u)n “incitement to evil,” from Medieval Latin suggestiōn-, stem of suggestiō, Latin: “addition, hint”; equivalent to suggest + -ion
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.
There is no suggestion that merely appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing and many of those who have featured in previous releases have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
From BBC
There is no suggestion that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing.
From BBC
The Commission gave several suggestions for actions the platform could take, including implementing "screen time breaks" when people are using it at night and changing its algorithms, which feed users personalised content.
From BBC
The suggestion is that rates are very close to what is known as their neutral level - neither high enough to tame inflation pressures or low enough to incite them.
From BBC
The therapist initially responds with some common-sense suggestions for the user, before jarringly veering into what appears to be a dating service for older women.
From BBC
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.
