suspiciousness

American  

[suh-spish-uhs-nis] / səˈspɪʃ əs nɪs /

noun

1. a quality that arouses suspicion or seems to suggest foul play.

2. the state or character trait of being suspicious of others; a tendency to suspect foul play or conspiracy; suspicion.

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Explanation

Suspiciousness is a quality of distrust or disbelief. Your suspiciousness about your upstair's neighbor's claim that he doesn't have a dog is completely justified if you wake every morning to the sound of barking overhead. If you're feeling doubtful about whether someone's telling you the truth, or have a hunch that they're up to no good, you're experiencing suspiciousness. Sometimes this quality of being suspicious makes sense (like your suspiciousness when your new classmate claims to be British royalty). Other times, it's okay to question your suspiciousness — that charismatic political candidate's promises may actually be sincere!

Example Sentences

Particularly in the case of responses emphasising bizarre thinking and exaggerated suspiciousness, attention should also be paid to assessing mood and self-destructive thinking, as these factors can remain hidden without further enquiry.

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024

But it’s not difficult to imagine how a machine-generated assessment of suspiciousness could still go wrong—if not next week, then later, when some private club is using a spinoff.

From Slate • Dec. 11, 2023

This ontological insecurity feeds paranoia, which Hofstadter defined as "the sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy" that characterizes "more or less normal people" throughout American history.

From Salon • Jul. 31, 2022

In response, they took up what he called the “paranoid style” — an approach to politics characterized by “heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 21, 2021

They looked at me with new eyes, and a distance, a suspiciousness came between us.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright