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suspension

 - 7 dictionary results

sus⋅pen⋅sion

[suh-spen-shuhn]
–noun
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.
a. the state in which the particles of a substance are mixed with a fluid but are undissolved.
b. a substance in such a state.
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.
a. the prolongation of a tone in one chord into the following chord, usually producing a temporary dissonance.
b. the tone so prolonged.
12. Rhetoric. the heightening of interest by delay of the main subject or clause, especially by means of a series of parallel preceding elements.

Origin:
1520–30; < L suspēnsiōn- (s. of suspēnsiō), equiv. to suspēns(us) (see suspense ) + -iōn- -ion


1–3. intermission, interruption, discontinuance, cessation, abeyance, hiatus.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sus·pen·sion   (sə-spěn'shən)   


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n.  
  1. The act of suspending or the condition of being suspended, especially:

    1. A temporary abrogation or cessation, as of a law or rule.

    2. A temporary debarment, as from school or a privilege, especially as a punishment.

    3. A postponement, as of a judgment, opinion, or decision. See Synonyms at pause.

    4. The prolongation of one or more tones of a chord into a following chord to create a temporary dissonance.

    5. The tone so prolonged.

  2. Music

    1. The prolongation of one or more tones of a chord into a following chord to create a temporary dissonance.

    2. The tone so prolonged.

  3. A device from which a mechanical part is suspended.

  4. The system of springs and other devices that insulates the chassis of a vehicle from shocks transmitted through the wheels.

  5. Chemistry A system in which microscopically visible particles are dispersed throughout a less dense liquid or gas from which they are easily filtered but not easily settled because of system viscocity or molecular interactions.

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

suspension 
1421, "temporary halting or deprivation," from L. suspensionem (nom. suspensio) "the act or state of hanging up, a vaulting," from pp. stem of suspendere "to hang" (see suspend).
"A semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." [Coleridge, "Biographia Literaria," 1817]
Meaning "action of hanging by a support from above" is attested from 1546. Suspension bridge first recorded 1821.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: sus·pen·sion
Function: noun
: the act of suspending : the state or period of being suspended suspension of an employee>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sus·pen·sion
Pronunciation: s&-'spen-ch&n
Function: noun
1 a : the state of a substance when its particles aremixed with but undissolved in a fluid or solid b : a substance in this state
2 : a system consisting of a solid dispersed in a solid, liquid, or gas usually inparticles of larger than colloidal size
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

suspension sus·pen·sion (sə-spěn'shən)
n.

  1. A noncolloidal dispersion of solid particles in a liquid, often used for pharmaceutical preparations.

  2. The fixation of an organ to other tissue for support, as the uterus.

  3. The hanging of a part from a support, such as a plaster-encased limb.

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

suspension
In lazy evaluation, a suspension (or in Henderson's terminology, a "recipe") is a closure with a flag indicating whether the expression has been evaluated or not. When the expression is evaluated the first time, this flag is set. Subsequent requests for the value of the expression will not attempt to re-evaluate it.
(1995-02-06)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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