suspense

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   An anxious or excited feeling of not knowing what will happen next, while you wait for an outcome.

   Grammar: Uncountable: there was a lot of suspense, not many suspenses.

   Patterns

   • in suspense
   • the suspense of something
   • keep someone in suspense

   The announcer kept the audience in suspense before naming the winner.

   The suspense was unbearable as we waited for the test results.

   Don't leave me in suspense; tell me what happened.

2. 2noununcountable

   A quality in a story, film, or game that builds tension by delaying what will happen.

   Grammar: Often modifies another noun: a suspense novel.

   Patterns

   • build suspense
   • a suspense film

   The director builds suspense with long silences.

   The novel is full of suspense from the first page.

   Good thrillers rely on suspense rather than gore.

3. 3noununcountableformal

   A state of being undecided or temporarily put on hold, especially in legal or formal language.

   Grammar: Found in the phrase in suspense, meaning not yet resolved.

   Patterns

   • hold something in suspense

   The decision was held in suspense until the vote.

   The case remained in suspense for months.

   Her plans hung in suspense while the board met.

Common combinations

keep someone in suspense

She kept us in suspense for another hour.

build suspense

The music builds suspense in the final scene.

agonizing suspense

We endured agonizing suspense waiting for the call.

edge-of-your-seat suspense

The movie delivers edge-of-your-seat suspense.

suspense novel

He reads a suspense novel every weekend.

end the suspense

The judges ended the suspense by opening the envelope.

Synonyms and how they differ

tension

Tension is the strain you feel in any tight situation, while suspense is specifically about waiting for an outcome.

anticipation

Anticipation is usually happy expectation, but suspense often includes worry.

uncertainty

Uncertainty is a plain lack of knowledge without the excitement that suspense carries.

cliffhanger

A cliffhanger is a particular ending that leaves the story unresolved, whereas suspense is the feeling.

Opposites

Word family

suspend verb

to hang or temporarily stop something

suspension noun

the act of stopping something for a time

suspenseful adjective

full of suspense

suspensefully adverb

in a way that creates suspense

Commonly confused: suspense or suspect?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “suspense”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words