suspicion

[ suh-spish-uhn ]

See synonyms for: suspicion suspicioned suspicioning suspicions on Thesaurus.com

noun

act of suspecting.
the state of mind or feeling of one who suspects: Suspicion kept him awake all night long.

an instance of suspecting something or someone.
state of being suspected: under suspicion; above suspicion.
imagination of anything to be the case or to be likely; a vague notion of something.
a slight trace, hint, or suggestion: a suspicion of a smile.

verb (used with object)

Nonstandard. to suspect.

Origin of suspicion

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;see suspect

synonym study For suspicion

2. 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.

Other words for suspicion

2	doubt, mistrust, misgiving

See synonyms for suspicion on Thesaurus.com

Other words from suspicion

pre·sus·pi·cion, noun
self-sus·pi·cion, noun
su·per·sus·pi·cion, noun

Words Nearby suspicion

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

How to use suspicion in a sentence

The anti-vaccine movement is based on suspicion of authority, beginning with medical authority.
How Pseudoscientists Get Away With It - Facts So Romantic | Stuart Firestein | August 28, 2020 | Nautilus
Some of the more general objections to the project may have more to do with suspicions of government and for-profit businesses than with mosquito biology.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight | Susan Milius | August 22, 2020 | Science News
When two more people were beaten the next day, apparently on the same suspicion, the government shut off the state’s internet to stop the rumors from spreading.
How India became the world’s leader in internet shutdowns | Katie McLean | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Indeed, despite the algorithm’s somewhat weird writing pattern and occasional errors, only three or four of the dozens of people who commented on his top post on Hacker News raised suspicions that it might have been generated by an algorithm.
A college kid’s fake, AI-generated blog fooled tens of thousands. This is how he made it. | Karen Hao | August 14, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Menzie Chinn, an economist at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, said the July jobs report only confirmed his suspicion that the economic recovery was starting to plateau.
What Economists Fear Will Happen Without More Unemployment Aid | Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux | August 11, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight

Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder | Jason McGahan | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Those who served abroad were treated with suspicion that they had been infected by European diplomacy.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale | William O’Connor | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
In Romneyland, the super PAC is being met with real suspicion and skepticism.
‘Ready for Romney’ Is Amateur Hour | Tim Mak | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sena might have felt insulated from suspicion in part because of his friendly relationship with local police.
The Father Who Made His Kids Have Sex With a Dog | John L. Smith | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
suspicion has focused on the government of Qatar, which has strong ties to Nusra, as the source of the money.
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage | Shane Harris | November 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Any one may possess the portrait of a tragedian without exciting suspicion or comment.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
He learned the series by heart without any suspicion that he was committing it to memory.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Hilda impetuously turned her head; their glances met for an instant, in suspicion, challenge, animosity.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
She watched him, and suddenly a suspicion darted through her mind—a suspicion that he suspected them.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
Doubt, suspicion, anger clouded vision; pain routed the impersonal conception.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for suspicion

suspicion

/ (səˈspɪʃən) /

noun

the act or an instance of suspecting; belief without sure proof, esp that something is wrong
the feeling of mistrust of a person who suspects

the state of being suspected: to be shielded from suspicion
a slight trace
above suspicion in such a position that no guilt may be thought or implied, esp through having an unblemished reputation
on suspicion as a suspect
under suspicion regarded with distrust

Origin of suspicion

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

Derived forms of suspicion

suspicional, adjective
suspicionless, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with suspicion

suspicion

see above suspicion.

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