suspense
[ suh-spens ]
/ səˈspɛns /
noun
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.
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RELATED WORDS
sensational, startling, breathtaking, thrilling, impressive, striking, tense, powerful, climactic, theatrical, melodramatic, sudden, tragic, emotional, comic, vivid, terrifying, shocking, frightening, chilling
Nearby words
- suspend,
- suspended animation,
- suspended sentence,
- suspender,
- suspender belt,
- suspense account,
- suspenseful,
- suspenser,
- suspensible,
- suspension
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)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for suspenseful
suspense
/ (səˈspɛns) /
noun
the condition of being insecure or uncertainthe matter of the succession remained in suspense for many years
mental uncertainty; anxietytheir father's illness kept them in a state of suspense
excitement felt at the approach of the climaxa play of terrifying suspense
the condition of being suspended
Word Origin for suspense
C15: from Medieval Latin suspensum delay, from Latin suspendere to hang up; see suspend
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
suspense
c.1400, "not being executed, unfulfilled" (of legal matters), from Anglo-French suspens (in en suspens "in abeyance," c.1300), from Old French suspens "act of suspending," from Latin suspensus, past participle of suspendere (see suspend). Meaning "state of mental uncertainty" (mid-15c.) is from legal meaning of "not rendered, not paid, not carried out" (e.g. suspended sentence). As a genre of novels, stories, etc., attested from 1952.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper