[suh-spen-shuh
n] 
| 1. | the act of suspending. |
| 2. | the state of being suspended. |
| 3. | temporary abrogation or withholding, as of a law, privilege, decision, belief, etc. |
| 4. | stoppage of payment of debts or claims because of financial inability or insolvency. |
| 5. | Chemistry.
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| 6. | Physical Chemistry. a system consisting of small particles kept dispersed by agitation (mechanical suspension) or by the molecular motion in the surrounding medium (colloidal suspension). |
| 7. | something on or by which something else is suspended or hung. |
| 8. | something that is suspended or hung. |
| 9. | Also called suspension system. the arrangement of springs, shock absorbers, hangers, etc., in an automobile, railway car, etc., connecting the wheel-suspension units or axles to the chassis frame. |
| 10. | Electricity. a wire, filament, or group of wires by which the conducting part of an instrument or device is suspended. |
| 11. | Music.
|
| 12. | Rhetoric. the heightening of interest by delay of the main subject or clause, especially by means of a series of parallel preceding elements. |
suspension sus·pen·sion (sə-spěn'shən)
n.
A noncolloidal dispersion of solid particles in a liquid, often used for pharmaceutical preparations.
The fixation of an organ to other tissue for support, as the uterus.
The hanging of a part from a support, such as a plaster-encased limb.
| suspension (sə-spěn'shən) Pronunciation Key
A mixture in which small particles of a substance are dispersed throughout a gas or liquid. If a suspension is left undisturbed, the particles are likely to settle to the bottom. The particles in a suspension are larger than those in either a colloid or a solution. Muddy water is an example of a suspension. Compare colloid, solution. |