suspect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
suspects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suspected,
past participle, past
-
suspecting
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- suppose, conjecture, guess
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to have some hint or foreknowledge of.
I think she suspected the surprise.
verb (used without object)
-
suspects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
suspected,
past participle, past
-
suspecting
present participle
noun
-
suspects
plural
-
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: The cause of the disease was not confirmed, but the suspect was an insect.
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
idioms
verb
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(tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof
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(tr) to think false, questionable, etc
she suspected his sincerity
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(tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable
to suspect fraud
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(intr) to have suspicion
noun
adjective
Usage
What does sus mean? Sus is a shortening of suspicious or suspect. In slang, it has the sense of "questionable" or "shady."
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsuspectnoun
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suspecternoun
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presuspectverb (used with object)
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suspectibleadjective
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suspectlessadjective
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unsuspectingadjective
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unsuspectinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suspectsimple
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suspectssimple
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have suspectedperfect
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has suspectedperfect
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am suspectingprogressive
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are suspectingprogressive
-
is suspectingprogressive
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have been suspectingperfect progressive
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has been suspectingperfect progressive
Past
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suspectedsimple
-
had suspectedperfect
-
was suspectingprogressive
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were suspectingprogressive
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had been suspectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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-
Explanation
A suspect is a person who is believed to be guilty of a crime. If you leave the scene of a murder with blood on your hands and a weapon in your pocket, you’re likely to become a prime suspect. If others believe you have committed a crime, you are a suspect. The word can also be used as a verb and an adjective. To suspect someone of something is to believe that they probably did it. Do you ever suspect your parents of taking some of your Halloween candy? If something such as someone's excuse or motive is suspect, it seems a bit off. That bad-smelling piece of fish is suspect — you'd better not eat it.
Vocabulary lists containing suspect
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
See Examples For:
Researchers therefore suspect that some of these prehistoric outbreaks may have begun when the disease passed directly from infected marmots into humans.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
After you make them a few times, I suspect you will start doing the same.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
The arrest of a suspect followed weeks of what Spivey and residents in Jackson described as relative silence and inaction from local officials.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
I suspect this is one of those peculiarly British collisions of ambiguity, assumption and social discomfort.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
I am surprised that your trading VaR stayed stable in the quarter given this level of loss, and given that I would suspect that these were trading assets.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Her father, a business magnate in the U.S., suspects that she has gone to ground in Turkey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Some retailers told the BBC they had had to identify suspects themselves to ensure an arrest.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
O'Connor suspects that another critical difference may have involved their feathers and how those feathers were replaced.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
While SoftBank didn’t discuss how it would fund the repayment, Ambiru suspects it may have used margin loans with Arm Holdings shares as collateral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The two suspects were placed in separate rooms and left to stir.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Then at 9 p.m., veteran NBC4 anchor Colleen Williams confirmed what many viewers suspected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
GPS tracking of people on bail, including those suspected of domestic abuse, is to begin in parts of central Scotland next year, John Swinney has confirmed.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Zinzindohoué and his colleagues suspected that the site might instead contain a mesophotic coral ecosystem.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $385 million to settle allegations related to its management of a baby formula facility where deadly bacteria was suspected of causing infant deaths, the Justice Department said Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
He suspected that even if he could make out what Malevolent was saying, he wouldn’t have been able to remember it to save his life.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
There are still signs of wealth, she said, suspecting there are people making money off the scarcity caused by the sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Still, it’s worth noting that Sink’s role has been the subject of much speculation, with fans suspecting she would play Marvel-verse X-Men telekinetic and telepath Jean Grey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
When you start suspecting that your position might be terminated, it’s easy to mentally check out.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
It is a notifiable disease so anyone suspecting their animals may have it must report it to to a vet, local divisional veterinary office or to Daera directly.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
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.
