suspicious

[suh-spish-uhs]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suspicious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending to cause or excite suspicion; questionable: suspicious behavior.

inclined to suspect, especially inclined to suspect evil; distrustful: a suspicious tyrant.

full of or feeling suspicion.

expressing or indicating suspicion: a suspicious glance.

Nearby words

Origin of suspicious

1300–50; Middle English < Latin suspīciōsus, equivalent to suspīci- (see suspicion) + -ōsus -ous

SYNONYMS FOR suspicious

1. suspect, dubious, doubtful. 2. mistrustful, wary, disbelieving.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suspicious ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

sus·pi·cious·ly, adverbsus·pi·cious·ness, nounhy·per·sus·pi·cious, adjectivehy·per·sus·pi·cious·ly, adverb

hy·per·sus·pi·cious·ness, nouno·ver·sus·pi·cious, adjectiveo·ver·sus·pi·cious·ly, adverbo·ver·sus·pi·cious·ness, nounpre·sus·pi·cious, adjectivepre·sus·pi·cious·ly, adverbpre·sus·pi·cious·ness, nounself-sus·pi·cious, adjectivesu·per·sus·pi·cious, adjectivesu·per·sus·pi·cious·ly, adverbsu·per·sus·pi·cious·ness, nounun·sus·pi·cious, adjectiveun·sus·pi·cious·ly, adverbun·sus·pi·cious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for suspicious

They apparently took that as a sign of suspicious activity, even though that can be a hallmark of people on the autism spectrum.
Worse Than Eric Garner: Cops Who Got Away With Killing Autistic Men and Little Girls|Emily Shire|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With this track record, how could the American people be anything other than suspicious of war?
Can America Still Win Wars?|Michael Tomasky|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Over dinner, an elderly waitress at a nearby restaurant thought the timing of the attack was suspicious.
Hong Kong’s Triads Attack Protestors|Ben Leung|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“He was suspicious because it was abandoned with its windows opened,” the complaint says.
Manhunt for a Cop-Hating Pennsylvania ‘Survivalist’|Michael Daly|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And it is suspicious, according to Schultz, that Christie is not making it a priority to get to the bottom of the matter.
Dems' Unspeakably Lame Bridgegate Stunt|Olivia Nuzzi|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The suspicious eyes of the nester passed over Beaudry and came back to Dingwell.
The Sheriff's Son|William MacLeod Raine
But after dinner she came to him with a shy, suspicious air, and a touch of mystery that was explained by her first words.
Ainslee's magazine, Volume 16, No. 2, September, 1905|Various
The constant fear of being married for her money rendered her suspicious and uneasy beyond all reason.
An Old Maid|Honore de Balzac
Madame D'Arblay's are much fuller, and bear a suspicious resemblance to the dialogues in her novels.
Autobiography, Letters and Literary Remains of Mrs. Piozzi (Thrale) (2nd ed.) (2 vols.)|Mrs. Hester Lynch Piozzi
Ive got to be suspicious of everybodyand Im going to be till I know who can be trusted.
Sudden Jim|Clarence Budington Kelland

British Dictionary definitions for suspicious

suspicious

adjective

exciting or liable to excite suspicion; questionable

disposed to suspect something wrong

indicative or expressive of suspicion

Derived Formssuspiciously, adverbsuspiciousness, 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

Word Origin and History for suspicious

suspicious

adj.

"deserving of or exciting suspicion," mid-14c., from Old French suspecious, from Latin suspiciosus "exciting suspicion" (see suspicion). Meaning "full of or inclined to feel suspicion" is attested from c.1400. Edgar Allan Poe (c.1845) proposed suspectful to take one of the two conflicting senses. Related: suspiciously; suspiciousness.

suspicious

adjective

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Origin of suspicious

Examples from the Web for suspicious

suspicious

adjective

suspicious