Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
 
Help

Suggestion

 - 7 dictionary results

sug⋅ges⋅tion

[suhg-jes-chuhn, suh-]
–noun
1. the act of suggesting.
2. the state of being suggested.
3. something suggested, as a piece of advice: We made the suggestion that she resign.
4. a slight trace: He speaks with a suggestion of a foreign accent.
5. the calling up in the mind of one idea by another by virtue of some association or of some natural connection between the ideas.
6. the idea thus called up.
7. Psychology.
a. the process of inducing a thought, sensation, or action in a receptive person without using persuasion and without giving rise to reflection in the recipient.
b. the thought, sensation, or action induced in this way.

Origin:
1300–50; ME suggestio(u)n incitement to evil < ML suggestiōn- (s. of suggestiō), L: act of supplying an answer or hint, equiv. to suggest(us) (see suggest ) + -iōn- -ion


1, 3. See advice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Suggestion
sug·ges·tion   (səg-jěs'chən, sə-jěs'-)   
n.  
  1. The act of suggesting.

  2. Something suggested: We ordered the shrimp, a suggestion of the waiter.

  3. The sequential process by which one thought or mental image leads to another.

    1. A psychological process by which an idea is induced in or adopted by another without argument, command, or coercion.

    2. An idea or response so induced.

  4. A hint or trace: just a suggestion of makeup; the first suggestion of trouble ahead.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

suggestion 
c.1340, "a prompting to evil," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. suggestioun, from L. suggestionem (nom. suggestio) "an addition, intimation, suggestion," from suggestus, pp. of suggestere "suggest, supply, bring up," from sub "up" + gerere "bring, carry." Sense evolution in L. is from "heap up, build" to "bring forward an idea." Meaning "proposal" appeared by 1382, but original Eng. notion of "evil prompting" is preserved in suggestive (1631, though the indecent aspect did not emerge until 1888). Hypnotism sense is from 1887.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: sug·ges·tion
Function: noun
1 a : the act or process of suggesting b : something suggested
2 : an entry on the record of a fact or circumstance (as the death or insolvency of a party) material to a case and essential for the court in making its determination suggestion of death on the record —Kissic v. Liberty Nat'l Life Insurance Company, 641 So. Second 250 (1994)>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sug·ges·tion
Pronunciation: s&(g)-'jes-ch&n, -'jesh-
Function: noun
1 a : the act or process of impressingsomething (as an idea, attitude, or desired action) upon the mind of another <suggestion in response to propaganda —Psychological Abstracts> b : the processby which a physical or mental state is influenced by a thought or idea suggestion>
2 : something impressed upon the mind by suggestion suggestions held in the unconscious —G. S. Blum>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

suggestion sug·ges·tion (səg-jěs'chən, sə-jěs'-)
n.
Implanting of an idea in the mind of another by a word or act so as to influence conduct or physical condition.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

suggestion

in psychology, process of leading a person to respond uncritically, as in belief or action. The mode of suggestion, while usually verbal, may be visual or may involve any other sense. The suggestion may be symbolic. For instance, a person who is allergic to roses may develop an attack of asthma from looking through a seed catalog. Suggestion, or suggestibility, plays a significant role in collective behaviour, especially in social unrest, and it constitutes the central phenomenon of hypnosis (q.v.).

Learn more about suggestion with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Suggestion on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: