Definition of 'suspect'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense suspects, present participle suspecting
, past tense, past participle suspected
pronunciation note: The verb is pronounced (səspekt
). The noun and adjective are pronounced (sʌspekt
).
![IPA Pronunciation Guide](/external/images/info.png?version=6.0.14)
![IPA Pronunciation Guide](/external/images/info.png?version=6.0.14)
1. verb
![B2](/external/images/lbcefrb/b2.png?version=6.0.14)
2. verb
![B2](/external/images/lbcefrb/b2.png?version=6.0.14)
If you suspect that something dishonest or unpleasant has been done, you believe that it has probably been done. If you suspect someone of doing an action of this kind, you believe that they probably did it.
It was perfectly all right, he said, because the police had not suspected him of
anything. [VERB noun + of]
[Also VERB wh] 3. countable noun
4. adjective
Suspect things or people are ones that you think may be dangerous or may be less good or genuine than they appear.
Synonyms: dubious, doubtful, dodgy [British, Australian, New Zealand, informal], questionable More Synonyms of suspect
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
![Youtube video](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d5DcUCBokFE/hqdefault.jpg)
American English pronunciation
![Youtube video](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zGksXfgiBWE/hqdefault.jpg)
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Word Frequency
suspect in American English
verb transitive
1.
to believe (someone) to be guilty of something specified, on little or no evidence
verb intransitive
4.
to be suspicious; have suspicion
adjective
5.
viewed with suspicion; suspected
noun
6.
a person who is suspected, esp. one suspected of a crime, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
suspect in American English
(verb səˈspekt, noun ˈsʌspekt, adjective ˈsʌspekt, səˈspekt)
transitive verb
1.
to believe to be guilty, false, counterfeit, undesirable, defective, bad, etc., with little or no proof
to suspect a person of murder
3.
to believe to be the case or to be likely or probable; surmise
I suspect his knowledge did not amount to much
intransitive verb
5.
to believe something, esp. something evil or wrong, to be the case; have suspicion
adjective
SYNONYMS 3. guess, conjecture, suppose.7.
suspected; open to or under suspicion
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
suspectible adjective
Word origin
[1250–1300; ME (adj.) ‹ L suspectāre, equiv. to su- su- + spectāre, freq. of specere to look at]Examples of 'suspect' in a sentence
suspect
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In other languages
suspect
British English: suspect
/ˈsʌspɛkt/ NOUN
A suspect is a person who the police think may be guilty of a crime.
Police have arrested a suspect.
- American English: suspect /ˈsʌspɛkt/
- Arabic: مُشْتَبَهٌ بِهِ
- Brazilian Portuguese: suspeito
- Chinese: 嫌疑犯
- Croatian: osumnjičeni
- Czech: podezřelý
- Danish: mistænkt
- Dutch: verdachte
- European Spanish: sospechoso
- Finnish: epäilty
- French: suspect
- German: Verdächtiger
- Greek: ύποπτος
- Italian: sospetto
- Japanese: 容疑者
- Korean: 용의자
- Norwegian: mistenkt
- Polish: podejrzany
- European Portuguese: suspeito
- Romanian: suspect
- Russian: подозреваемый
- Latin American Spanish: sospechoso
- Swedish: misstänkt
- Thai: ผู้ต้องสงสัย
- Turkish: zanlı
- Ukrainian: підозрюваний
- Vietnamese: người bị tình nghi
British English: suspect
/səˈspɛkt/ VERB
If you say that you suspect that something is true, you mean that you believe it is probably true, but you want to make it sound less strong or direct.
I suspect they were right.
- American English: suspect /səˈspɛkt/
- Arabic: يَشْتَبِهُ بِ
- Brazilian Portuguese: suspeitar
- Chinese: 怀疑
- Croatian: sumnjati
- Czech: domnívat se
- Danish: have mistanke om
- Dutch: vermoeden
- European Spanish: sospechar
- Finnish: epäillä rikoksesta tms.
- French: soupçonner
- German: verdächtigen
- Greek: υποπτεύομαι
- Italian: sospettare
- Japanese: 疑いをかける
- Korean: 의심하다
- Norwegian: mistenke
- Polish: podejrzewać
- European Portuguese: suspeitar
- Romanian: a suspecta
- Russian: подозревать
- Latin American Spanish: sospechar
- Swedish: misstänka
- Thai: สงสัย
- Turkish: kuşkulanmak
- Ukrainian: підозрювати
- Vietnamese: nghi ngờ
British English: suspect
ADJECTIVE /səˈspɛkt/
Suspect things or people are ones that you think may be dangerous or may be less good or genuine than they appear.
Delegates evacuated the building when a suspect package was found.
- American English: suspect /ˈsʌspɛkt/
- Brazilian Portuguese: suspeito
- Chinese: 可疑的
- European Spanish: sospechoso
- French: suspect
- German: verdächtig
- Italian: sospetto
- Japanese: 疑わしい
- Korean: 의심스러운
- European Portuguese: suspeito
- Latin American Spanish: sospechoso
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Definition of suspect from the Collins English Dictionary
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