Meaning & use
suspect
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To think that something is probably true, without being certain or having proof.
Grammar: Takes a that clause or a noun: I suspect that he is lying; I suspect a problem. Stress falls on the second syllable.
Patterns
- suspect that something
- suspect something
I suspect that the meeting will run late.
Doctors suspect a viral infection.
She suspected nothing until the surprise party began.
verbtransitive
To believe, without proof, that a person has done something wrong.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: suspect someone of a crime or of doing something. Often passive: he is suspected of fraud.
Patterns
- suspect someone of something
- suspect someone of doing something
Nobody suspected the quiet clerk of stealing the money.
He is suspected of leaking the plans to a rival firm.
She began to suspect her neighbor of reading her mail.
nouncountable
A person who is thought to have committed a crime or done something wrong.
Grammar: Countable noun, stressed on the first syllable: a suspect, the main suspects.
Patterns
- a suspect in something
- the prime suspect
Police have arrested a suspect in the burglary.
The prime suspect was released after the investigators checked his alibi.
Every guest at the dinner became a suspect.
adjectivecomparableformal
Possibly false, unsafe or dishonest, and so not to be trusted.
Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb, and is stressed on the first syllable: the evidence seems suspect.
Patterns
- be suspect
- seem suspect
The accountant's figures looked suspect to the auditors.
Food from that stall is suspect, so I avoid it.
His motives for helping us are suspect.
Word forms
| third person singular | suspects |
|---|---|
| past tense | suspected |
| past participle | suspected |
| -ing form | suspecting |
| plural noun | suspects |
Common combinations
- strongly suspect
- I strongly suspect that someone told her the secret.
- a prime suspect
- The ex-partner became the prime suspect.
- a suspect package
- Airport staff isolated a suspect package.
- suspect foul play
- Detectives suspect foul play in the disappearance.
- a likely suspect
- The gardener was the likely suspect.
- suspect someone of lying
- I did not want to suspect my friend of lying.
Synonyms and how they differ
- suppose
- Suppose is milder and has no hint of doubt about something bad, while suspect often suggests something unpleasant or hidden.
- distrust
- Distrust means you do not trust someone, whereas suspect means you think they may have done a specific thing.
- doubt
- Doubt leans the opposite way, since to suspect something is to think it probably true, and to doubt it is to think it probably false.
- dubious
- Dubious, as an adjective, is a close match to suspect and describes something that raises doubt, but it can also describe a person who feels doubt.
Opposites
Word family
- suspicion noun
- a feeling that something is wrong or that someone is guilty
- suspicious adjective
- causing or feeling doubt or distrust
- suspiciously adverb
- in a way that raises doubt
- unsuspecting adjective
- not aware of danger or wrongdoing
Commonly confused: suspect or suspicious? suspect or expect?
suspect vs suspicious
Suspicious describes someone who feels doubt or a thing that causes it, while suspect as an adjective only describes the thing that seems untrustworthy.
suspect vs expect
To expect is to think something will happen, while to suspect is to think something is probably true or going on, often something bad.
Practice
Which sentence uses the verb suspect with the correct preposition?
Choose one answer.
The pattern is suspect someone of something. For, about and with are not used after suspect to name the wrongdoing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “suspect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.