suspect
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.
to believe something, especially something evil or wrong, to be the case; have suspicion.
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.
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
1Other words for suspect
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for suspect
(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
a person who is under suspicion
causing or open to suspicion
Origin of suspect
1Derived 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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