suspicion

[suh-spish-uhn]

noun

1. act of suspecting.

2. the state of mind or feeling of one who suspects.

   Suspicion kept him awake all night long.

   Synonyms: misgiving, mistrust, doubt

3. an instance of suspecting something or someone.

4. state of being suspected.

   under suspicion; above suspicion.

5. imagination of anything to be the case or to be likely; a vague notion of something.

6. a slight trace, hint, or suggestion.

   a suspicion of a smile.

verb (used with object)

1. Nonstandard.,  to suspect.

suspicion

/ səˈspɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of suspecting; belief without sure proof, esp that something is wrong

2. the feeling of mistrust of a person who suspects

3. the state of being suspected

   to be shielded from suspicion

4. a slight trace

5. in such a position that no guilt may be thought or implied, esp through having an unblemished reputation

6. as a suspect

7. regarded with distrust

Other Word Forms

• presuspicion noun
• self-suspicion noun
• supersuspicion noun
• suspicionless adjective
• suspicional adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of suspicion¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin suspīciōn- (stem of suspīciō ), equivalent to suspīc- (variant stem of suspicere “to look from below, suspect” ) + -iōn- -ion; suspect

Word History and Origins

Origin of suspicion¹

C14: from Old French sospeçon, from Latin suspīciō distrust, from suspicere to mistrust; see _suspect

Idioms and Phrases

see above suspicion.

Synonym Study

Suspicion, distrust are terms for a feeling that appearances are not reliable. Suspicion is the positive tendency to doubt the trustworthiness of appearances and therefore to believe that one has detected possibilities of something unreliable, unfavorable, menacing, or the like: to feel suspicion about the honesty of a prominent man. Distrust may be a passive want of trust, faith, or reliance in a person or thing: to feel distrust of one's own ability.

Example Sentences

Police accusations to date have been limited to suspicion of fraud, breach of trust, obstruction of justice and misuse of office by Gen. Tomer-Yerushalmi.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Welsh government says employees must not accept gifts or hospitality "which might foster the suspicion of a conflict between our official duties and our private interests".

Read more on BBC

Even before the Communist era, religion was regarded with suspicion by many Chinese modernizers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It says his actions contributed "significantly to a culture of fear, mutual suspicion and distrust that poisoned the atmosphere in 10 Downing Street".

Read more on BBC

And then there’s a suspicion of the deep state, of the government, and this means cover-ups.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• conjecture 
• cynicism 
• distrust 
• impression 
• jealousy 
• misgiving 
• mistrust 
• notion 
• skepticism 
• uncertainty 
• wariness 

When To Use

What does suspicion mean?

Suspicion is the state or act of suspecting something—having a sense that it may be true without knowing with certainty.Suspicion can also refer to this sense, as in I had a suspicion that I was going to be fired, or an instance of suspecting someone of something, as in My suspicions turned out to be right—they had been stealing from the register.A suspicion is usually based on something, such as a hunch or some kind of evidence, but the word is typically used in situations in which there is some doubt—when someone suspects something, but isn’t sure.Suspicion is most commonly used in negative contexts, but this isn’t always the case. For example, you might have a suspicion that someone is planning a surprise party for you.Suspicion can also refer to a state of mind, as in He’s always been prone to suspicion. To regard something with suspicion is to regard it with distrust.Sometimes, suspicion refers to the state of being suspected, especially of a crime or other wrongdoing. This sense of the word is often used in phrases like under suspicion and on suspicion of, as in He was arrested on suspicion of robbery.Someone who’s considered highly trustworthy might be described as above suspicion, meaning you would never suspect them of doing anything wrong.The adjective suspicious can describe a person who has suspicions about others, as in My parents got suspicious when I kept asking whether they’d be home tomorrow, or someone or something that arouses suspicion, as in a suspicious package.Example: We have suspected it all along, and what happened today confirmed our suspicions.