suspect

[suh-spekt, suhs-pekt, suhs-pekt, suh-spekt]

verb (used with object)

1. to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof.

   to suspect a person of murder.

2. to doubt or mistrust.

   I suspect his motives.

3. 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

4. to have some hint or foreknowledge of.

   I think she suspected the surprise.

verb (used without object)

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

noun

1. a person who is suspected, especially one suspected of a crime, offense, or the like.

2. 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

1. suspected; open to or under suspicion.

suspect

verb

1. (tr) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof

2. (tr) to think false, questionable, etc

   she suspected his sincerity

3. (tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probable

   to suspect fraud

4. (intr) to have suspicion

noun

1. a person who is under suspicion

adjective

1. causing or open to suspicion

Other Word Forms

• suspectible adjective
• nonsuspect noun
• presuspect verb (used with object)
• unsuspecting adjective
• unsuspectingly adverb
• suspecter noun
• suspectless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suspect¹

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; su-

Word History and Origins

Origin of suspect¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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!

Example Sentences

The nine expelled generals were suspected of serious financial crimes, China's defence ministry said last week.

Read more on BBC

But on Tuesday, agents hit Canal Street in Chinatown, picking up nine African men suspected of being in the country illegally during an operation Homeland Security said focused on counterfeit goods.

Read more on Barron's

Along with Zhang, Cuba also detained two suspects, one Chinese and one Mexican national, Mexico’s government said Wednesday.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Lynch suspects “that, once again, Russian exports will continue largely unabated.”

Read more on MarketWatch

Officials say they suspect the detonating fuse on one of the rounds malfunctioned and caused the explosion.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assume 
• believe 
• consider 
• doubt 
• presume 
• speculate 
• think 
• wonder 

When To Use

What does sus mean?

Sus is a shortening of suspicious or suspect. In slang, it has the sense of "questionable" or "shady."