suspect

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

/ verb səˈspɛkt; noun ˈsʌs pɛkt; adjective ˈsʌs pɛkt, səˈspɛkt /

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.

adjective

suspected; open to or under suspicion.

Words nearby suspect

susian, susiana, susie, suslik, suslov, suspect, suspend, suspended animation, suspended sentence, suspender, suspender belt

Origin of suspect

1250–1300; Middle English (adj.) < Latin suspectāre, equivalent to su- su- + spectāre, frequentative of specere to look at

SYNONYMS FOR suspect

3 guess, conjecture, suppose.

OTHER WORDS FROM suspect

sus·pect·i·ble, adjectivenon·sus·pect, noun, adjectivepre·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. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for suspectible

suspect

verb (səˈspɛkt)

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

(tr) to think false, questionable, etcshe suspected his sincerity

(tr; may take a clause as object) to surmise to be the case; think probableto suspect fraud

(intr) to have suspicion

noun (ˈsʌspɛkt)

a person who is under suspicion

adjective (ˈsʌspɛkt)

causing or open to suspicion

Derived forms of suspect

suspecter, nounsuspectless, adjective

Word Origin for suspect

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

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

suspect

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

adjective

Content related to suspect

Words nearby suspect

Origin of suspect

SYNONYMS FOR suspect

OTHER WORDS FROM suspect

British Dictionary definitions for suspectible

verb (səˈspɛkt)

noun (ˈsʌspɛkt)

adjective (ˈsʌspɛkt)

Derived forms of suspect

Word Origin for suspect