Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act of suspecting something, especially something wrong, on little evidence or without proof.
- n. The condition of being suspected, especially of wrongdoing.
- n. A state of uncertainty; doubt. See Synonyms at uncertainty.
- n. A minute amount or slight indication; a trace.
- v. Nonstandard To suspect.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of suspecting; the feeling of one who suspects; the sentiment or passion which is excited by signs of evil, danger, or the like, without sufficient proof; the imagination of the existence of something, especially something wrong, without proof or with but slight proof.
- n. Thought.
- n. Suggestion; hint; small quantity; slight degree.
- n. Synonyms Jealousy, distrust, mistrust, doubt, fear, misgiving.
- To regard with suspicion; suspect; mistrust; doubt.
Wiktionary
- n. The act of suspecting something or someone, especially of something wrong.
- n. The condition of being suspected.
- n. Uncertainty, doubt.
- n. A trace, or slight indication.
- n. The imagining of something without evidence.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The act of suspecting; the imagination or apprehension of the existence of something (esp. something wrong or hurtful) without proof, or upon very slight evidence, or upon no evidence.
- n. colloq. Slight degree; suggestion; hint.
- v. Obs. or Low To view with suspicion; to suspect; to doubt.
WordNet 3.0
- n. being of a suspicious nature
- n. an impression that something might be the case
- n. doubt about someone's honesty
- n. the state of being suspected
Etymologies
- From Anglo‐French suspecioun, from Old French suspeçun or sospeçon, from Latin suspectionem, of the past participle from suspicere, from sub- ("up to") with specere ("to look at"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, alteration (influenced by Old French suspicion) of suspecioun, from Anglo-Norman, variant of Old French sospeçon, from Latin suspectiō, suspectiōn-, from suspectus, past participle of suspicere, to watch; see suspect. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“My main suspicion is that it's the weather changing - specifically the higher pressure.”
“The prudence of these worthy friends they term suspicion, and their experience dotage.”
Essays on Various Subjects Principally Designed for Young Ladies
“His erect position in itself started to drive the webs of suspicion from the dog's mind; and when he spoke peremptorily, with the sound of whip-lashes in his voice, the dog rendered its customary allegiance and came to him.”
“My suspicion is that threshold effects (e.g. name recognition) and declining marginal value effects (e.g. airwave saturation) dominate political advertising, and therefore the main outcome of campaign finance restrictions is to strengthen establishment candidates (and Republicans, generally) over outsider candidates.”
“Of course, the suspicion is that the Stimulus money is not meant for things like unemployment or highway funding … not now, at least.”
Matthew Yglesias » Obstructionism from Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) Boosting Lord’s Resistance Army
“And my suspicion is that the ultimate goal of teaching any and all of these books is really just to find something the kids "can relate to," itself a goal without substance as far as teaching is concerned.”
“My suspicion is that the java fern, which has nearly taken over the entire tank, may have been hiding bits of detrius -- food, waste, rotten eggs (from the multiple spawnings of the minnows), and any number of other ugliness.”
“But my suspicion is that he will end up like Randall Cunnignham, another fantastic all around athelete who didn't make it as a quarterback.”
Economic Arguments, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“My suspicion is that energy conservation and better batteries may be the "killer app" for nanotechnology over the next decade.”
Nanotechnology and the Great Race, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“My suspicion is that the parental (and high school) emphasis on extra-curricular resume is an error based on the way that things used to be, when elite colleges used to be focused on the upper classes and their specific cultural values.”
Back to School Edition, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘suspicion’.
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Words that are also movies
Unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12.
vertigo, serendipity, casablanca, psycho, jaws, fantasia, stagecoach, network, rocky, giant, platoon, unforgiven and 285 more...
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GRE AWA
escalating, vehement, vehemence, hostility, paparazzi, regime, irrespective, scoop, exaggerated, overblown, unfetter, scrupulous and 272 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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A Myriad of Irii
Iris varieties.
abbondanza, abiqua falls, about town, above the clouds, acadian miss, acapulco gold, act of kindness, adoregon, aegean wind, afternoon in rio, aggressively forward, agua fresca and 721 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Speaking in Tongues - an REM list
Words heard in various REM songs that I enjoy and that I think are indicative of the band. Not too literally, of course.
pilgrimage, pageant, suspicion, penitence, gentlemen, chronic, stigma, deadlier, transit, fortunate, momentum, misconstrued and 162 more...
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Words i could use in my book
promotion, preferment, amuse, defence, oppose, rape, argument, protect, attack, sex, intercourse, sexual intercourse and 23 more...
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Hitchcockian
vertigo, frenzy, topaz, suspicion, rope, spellbound, lifeboat, saboteur, rebecca, sabotage, mary, murder! and 2 more...
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Crimes & Misdemeanors
Crime-related words.
perpetrator, felony, misdemeanor, rape, suspicion, arrest, pillage, arson, burglary, theft, complicit, filch and 12 more...
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Name Suggestions for Ultra-Compact Cars
A companion list to Name Suggestions for Even Bigger SUVs and Trucks. :-)
Sounds best when you preface each word with "the."speck, iota, minute, mote, dot, jot, mite, molecule, particle, smidgen, morsel, scintilla and 64 more...
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kibbles and bits
itty bitty "measurements"
smattering, smithereen, hint, tinge, drop, tad, iota, scrap, whiff, handful, taste, jiff and 34 more...
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SasuSaku's list
gloomy, morose, sulk, ear-kissing, sexual activity, sexual intercourse, intercourse, sex, attack, protect, oppose, argument and 27 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for suspicion.

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