suspicion

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A feeling that someone has done something wrong or that something bad is going on, without being certain.

   Grammar: Countable when you have a particular one: I have a suspicion. Uncountable for the general feeling: he looked at her with suspicion.

   Patterns

   • suspicion of something
   • suspicion about someone
   • arrested on suspicion of something

   The man was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

   She had a growing suspicion that her neighbor was lying.

   The unusual noises aroused his suspicion.

2. 2nounsingularinformal

   A slight idea or guess about something, which you think may be true.

   Grammar: Usually singular with an or the: I have a suspicion that it will rain.

   Patterns

   • a suspicion that something

   I have a suspicion that the meeting will run late.

   He had a sneaking suspicion that the gift was from his sister.

   My suspicion is that the printer is simply out of paper.

3. 3nounsingularliterary

   A very small amount of something, a trace.

   Grammar: Singular with an and of: a suspicion of a smile.

   Patterns

   • a suspicion of something

   There was a suspicion of a smile on her face.

   The soup had just a suspicion of garlic.

   He spoke with a suspicion of sadness.

Word forms

Common combinations

arouse suspicion

His strange behavior aroused suspicion among the staff.

on suspicion of

Two men were held on suspicion of fraud.

under suspicion

Everyone in the house was under suspicion.

deep suspicion

They viewed the offer with deep suspicion.

confirm a suspicion

The test results confirmed our worst suspicions.

a sneaking suspicion

I have a sneaking suspicion that he forgot.

Synonyms and how they differ

mistrust

Mistrust is a lasting lack of trust in someone, while suspicion is often a reaction to a specific doubt.

doubt

Doubt means being unsure whether something is true, while suspicion usually points to the belief that something is wrong.

hunch

A hunch is a feeling based on instinct and is more neutral and informal, whereas suspicion suggests wrongdoing.

misgiving

A misgiving is a feeling of worry about a plan or action, rather than a belief that someone has behaved badly.

Opposites

Word family

suspect verb

to think that something is probably true or that someone did something wrong

suspect noun

a person believed to have committed a crime

suspicious adjective

feeling or causing doubt

suspiciously adverb

in a way that shows doubt or arouses it

Commonly confused: suspicion or suspect?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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