suspensive

[ suh-spen-siv ]

/ səˈspɛn sɪv /

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adjective

pertaining to or characterized by suspension.

undecided in mind.

pertaining to or characterized by suspense.

(of words, phrases, etc.) characterized by or expressing suspense; keeping the reader or listener in suspense.

having the effect of suspending the operation of something.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of suspensive

1540–50; <Medieval Latin suspēnsīvus, equivalent to suspēns(us) (see suspense) + -īvus-ive

OTHER WORDS FROM suspensive

sus·pen·sive·ly, adverbsus·pen·sive·ness, nounnon·sus·pen·sive, adjectivenon·sus·pen·sive·ly, adverb

non·sus·pen·sive·ness, noun

Words nearby suspensive

suspensible, suspension, suspension bridge, suspension point, suspension points, suspensive, suspensoid, suspensor, suspensory, suspensory ligament, suspicion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use suspensive in a sentence

Note the suspensive intense rise upon “heaven” and the falling on “hell.”
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue|S. S. Curry
The Ministers themselves were unable to insist on the absolute veto in preference to the suspensive thus defined.
Lectures on the French Revolution|John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
They resolved, on September 21, that the suspensive veto should extend over two legislatures.
Lectures on the French Revolution|John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
The fifth attitude serves as a preparation for oblique steps; it is also colorless, transitive, suspensive.
Delsarte System of Oratory|Various

Metrical students will delight in the double rhymes of the octave, which play so great a part in the suspensive music.
Theodore Watts-Dunton|James Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for suspensive

suspensive

/ (səˈspɛnsɪv) /

adjective

having the power of deferment; effecting suspension

causing, characterized by, or relating to suspense

inclined to defer judgment; undecided

Derived forms of suspensive

suspensively, adverbsuspensiveness, noun

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