suspicion

[ suh-spish-uhn ]
See synonyms for: suspicionsuspicionedsuspicioningsuspicions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. act of suspecting.

  2. the state of mind or feeling of one who suspects: Suspicion kept him awake all night long.

  1. an instance of suspecting something or someone.

  2. state of being suspected: under suspicion; above suspicion.

  3. imagination of anything to be the case or to be likely; a vague notion of something.

  4. a slight trace, hint, or suggestion: a suspicion of a smile.

verb (used with object)
  1. Nonstandard. to suspect.

Origin of suspicion

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin suspīciōn- (stem of suspīciō), equivalent to suspīc- (variant stem of suspicere “to look from below, suspect” ) + -iōn--ion;see suspect

synonym study For suspicion

2. Suspicion, distrust are terms for a feeling that appearances are not reliable. Suspicion is the positive tendency to doubt the trustworthiness of appearances and therefore to believe that one has detected possibilities of something unreliable, unfavorable, menacing, or the like: to feel suspicion about the honesty of a prominent man. Distrust may be a passive want of trust, faith, or reliance in a person or thing: to feel distrust of one's own ability.

Other words for suspicion

Other words from suspicion

  • pre·sus·pi·cion, noun
  • self-sus·pi·cion, noun
  • su·per·sus·pi·cion, noun

Words Nearby suspicion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use suspicion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for suspicion

suspicion

/ (səˈspɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or an instance of suspecting; belief without sure proof, esp that something is wrong

  2. the feeling of mistrust of a person who suspects

  1. the state of being suspected: to be shielded from suspicion

  2. a slight trace

  3. above suspicion in such a position that no guilt may be thought or implied, esp through having an unblemished reputation

  4. on suspicion as a suspect

  5. under suspicion regarded with distrust

Origin of suspicion

1
C14: from Old French sospeçon, from Latin suspīciō distrust, from suspicere to mistrust; see suspect

Derived forms of suspicion

  • suspicional, adjective
  • suspicionless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with suspicion

suspicion

see above suspicion.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.