suspense
Americannoun
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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.
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a state of mental indecision.
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undecided or doubtful condition, as of affairs.
For a few days matters hung in suspense.
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the state or condition of being suspended.
noun
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the condition of being insecure or uncertain
the matter of the succession remained in suspense for many years
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mental uncertainty; anxiety
their father's illness kept them in a state of suspense
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excitement felt at the approach of the climax
a play of terrifying suspense
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the condition of being suspended
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of suspense
1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin suspēnsum deferment, suspension, uncertainty, noun use of neuter of Latin suspēnsus hung up, doubtful, in suspense (past participle of suspendere to hang up, leave undecided), equivalent to sus- sus- + pēnsus ( pend-, stem of pendere (translation) to hang ( see pend) + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s )
Explanation
Suspense is a feeling of excited waiting. If you have been waiting for weeks to get an answer to your proposal of marriage, you are being kept in suspense. The verb form, suspend, literally means to keep hanging. Suspense can be used in all sorts of ways. Movies that keep you on the edge of your seat in fear use suspense to draw you in. Suspense doesn’t always have to be scary, but it is usually agitating. If you are in suspense, you’re waiting on something that you really have to know.
Vocabulary lists containing suspense
"What Is the Horror Genre?" Vocabulary from the literary criticism
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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.
They are announced one by one, starting from the bottom of the scoreboard -- thereby stretching out the suspense until the very end.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
Featuring new work from masters like Silvia Moreno-Garcia and SoCal’s Gary Phillips, our Summer 2026 books preview highlights this season’s most anticipated crime fiction and suspense novels.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Unlike the widely read Sophoclean trio, lesser-known works can generate suspense.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
There is plenty of creepy suspense in “Tales from ’85.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Inured as I was to sick beds and death, this suspense grew, and grew upon me.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
