suspense
a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety.
a state of mental indecision.
undecided or doubtful condition, as of affairs: For a few days matters hung in suspense.
the state or condition of being suspended.
Origin of suspense
1Other words from suspense
- sus·pense·ful, adjective
Words Nearby suspense
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use suspense in a sentence
Unfortunately, there’s just no real suspense to the various challenges facing our heroes.
The action-packed saga ‘Monkey King: Journey to the West’ gets a modern take | Michael Dirda | March 3, 2021 | Washington PostIt’s there that this publishing satire transforms into a lively suspense novel as Florence is forced to reckon with the person she’s become in her quest for fame.
Highsmith’s work will give you an unforgettable mix of pleasure and suspense.
Highsmith at 100: Literary legacy marred by racism | Kathi Wolfe | February 10, 2021 | Washington BladeThis is one of those games that knows how to ratchet up the suspense to get you talking to yourself.
‘Little Nightmares II’: A hypnotic, dark fairy tale | Christopher Byrd | February 9, 2021 | Washington PostA Rose Bowl national semifinal widely forecast to lack suspense wound up lacking suspense, unless you want to count the art exhibit.
Alabama advances to the national title game with an artful offensive performance | Chuck Culpepper, Des Bieler | January 2, 2021 | Washington Post
It has all the elements necessary for drama, controversy, and suspense.
The suspense was only over who would kill it: Obama or the Democrats.
Keystone Senate Failure Is Environmental Kabuki Theater | Ben Jacobs | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLike any good suspense novelist, Shields is a master of evasion and sleight-of-hand.
But those two identifications are still subjects of debate, a problem that adds to the suspense now mounting at Amphipolis.
Is it possible that there is an anti-feminist element buried in the nature of suspense itself?
The Feminist Aesthetic of ‘Happy Valley’: A Refusal to Eroticize Violence Against Women | Batya Ungar-Sargon | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe suspense with which Louis listened to this perfidious confederation, was almost insufferable.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterDuring so long drawn out a suspense I tried to ease the tension by dictation.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonThe suspense of waiting for the committee to decide upon the winner of the prize was hard to endure indeed.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. MorrisonThe dinner at Sivert Jespersen's the following day was silent, for all were in a state of suspense.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandFor awhile it almost seemed as though she were about to do this very thing, and the suspense nearly drove the girls frantic.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle | Laura Lee Hope
British Dictionary definitions for suspense
/ (səˈspɛns) /
the condition of being insecure or uncertain: the matter of the succession remained in suspense for many years
mental uncertainty; anxiety: their father's illness kept them in a state of suspense
excitement felt at the approach of the climax: a play of terrifying suspense
the condition of being suspended
Origin of suspense
1Derived forms of suspense
- suspenseful, 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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