suspect

[ verb suh-spekt; noun suhs-pekt; adjective suhs-pekt, suh-spekt ]

See synonyms for: suspect suspected suspecting suspects on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof: to suspect a person of murder.
to doubt or mistrust: I suspect his motives.

to believe to be the case or to be likely or probable; surmise: I suspect his knowledge did not amount to much.
to have some hint or foreknowledge of: I think she suspected the surprise.

verb (used without object)

to believe something, especially something evil or wrong, to be the case; have suspicion.

noun

a person who is suspected, especially one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like.
an animal or thing that is suspected to be the cause of something bad: 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

suspected; open to or under suspicion.

Idioms about suspect

the usual suspects, the people, animals, or things that are commonly associated with a particular activity, situation, etc. (often used facetiously): We visited a family farm with sheep and bunnies and roosters and goats—the usual suspects!

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-

Other words for suspect

3	guess, conjecture, suppose

See synonyms for suspect on Thesaurus.com

Other words from suspect

sus·pect·i·ble, adjective
non·sus·pect, noun, adjective
pre·sus·pect, verb (used with object)
un·sus·pect·ing, adjective
un·sus·pect·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby suspect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use suspect in a sentence

By the logic of this book, a lot of music made without “real” instruments — a lot of the music in the world right now, and some of the best — may start to look suspect.
The tale of a bass player, sonic epiphanies and a quest to save ‘real music’ | Ben Ratliff | February 12, 2021 | Washington Post
The suspect “was actually caught in the act,” prosecutor Arielle Hinton said this week during Cline’s first court hearing in the case in Montgomery County District Court.
Previously convicted bank robber allegedly hits new bank while under covert surveillance, gets arrested | Dan Morse | February 12, 2021 | Washington Post
On one occasion, the father reported a credit card stolen and said he suspected his son had taken it, police said.
An Indiana man never returned from a hunting trip. Strange texts and emojis led police to his son. | Katie Shepherd | February 12, 2021 | Washington Post
Parker Pearson suspects other, still-undiscovered stone circles in western Wales contributed to the construction of Stonehenge and Bluestonehenge.
Stonehenge may have had roots in a Welsh stone circle | Bruce Bower | February 12, 2021 | Science News
After the shooting, a suspect was seen leaving the area in a silver SUV, possibly a Nissan Rogue.
Fairfax County police identify victim of fatal shooting in Reston | Justin Jouvenal | February 11, 2021 | Washington Post

A fourth suspect, a 26-year-old woman named Hayat Boumeddiene, remains at large.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers | Nico Hines | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
The third suspect, an 18-year-old named Hamyd Mourad, who turned himself in, is part of the same extended family.
France Mourns—and Hunts | Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
The big slug happened to hit the suspect in the street, passing through his arm and then striking Police Officer Andrew Dossi.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown | Michael Daly | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
I suspect [Teresa] will get money sent in to her, so she can shop at the commissary.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’ | Michael Howard | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
In such beer polls, I suspect a lot of voters would pick Huckabee.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee | Sally Kohn | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
About this time the famous Philippine painter, Juan Luna (vide p. 195), was released after six monthsʼ imprisonment as a suspect.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
Children's Ways | James Sully
I suspect, from the evident care taken of it, that its product is considerably relied on for food.
Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
You see it for yourself, no Englishman ever shall suspect me, when we shall converse, of being other than a Briton.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
Only then did I own that by hook or by crook—and mostly by crook, I was forced to suspect—they had purposely given me the slip.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for suspect

suspect

verb(səˈspɛkt)

(tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof
(tr) to think false, questionable, etc: she suspected his sincerity

(tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable: to suspect fraud
(intr) to have suspicion

noun(ˈsʌspɛkt)

a person who is under suspicion

adjective(ˈsʌspɛkt)

causing or open to suspicion

Origin of suspect

C14: from Latin suspicere to mistrust, from sub- + specere to look

Derived forms of suspect

suspecter, noun
suspectless, adjective

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

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