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¹suspect

adjective sus·pect \ˈsəs-ˌpekt, sə-ˈspekt\

: not able to be trusted : causing feelings of doubt or suspicion

Full Definition of SUSPECT

: regarded or deserving to be regarded with suspicion : suspected <investigates suspect employees>

: doubtful, questionable <whose skills are suspect — Peter Vecsey>

See suspect defined for English-language learners

See suspect defined for kids

Origin of SUSPECT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin suspectus, from past participle of suspicere

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to SUSPECT

Synonyms: debatable, disputable, dodgy [chiefly British], doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, fishy, problematic (also problematical), queer, questionable, shady, shaky, doubtful, suspicious

Antonyms: certain, hands-down, incontestable, indisputable, indubitable, questionless, sure, undeniable, undoubted, unproblematic, unquestionable

Rhymes with SUSPECT

abject, advect, affect, aspect, bisect, cathect, collect, confect, connect, convect, correct, cowl-necked, defect, deflect, deject, detect, direct, Dordrecht, effect, eject, elect, erect, ewe-necked, expect, goosenecked, infect, inflect, inject, insect, inspect, neglect, object, pandect, porrect, prefect, prelect, project, prospect, protect, refect, reflect, reject, resect, respect, ring-necked, roll-necked, select, stiff-necked, subject, traject, transect, trisect, Utrecht, V-necked

²suspect

noun sus·pect \ˈsəs-ˌpekt\

: a person who is believed to be possibly guilty of committing a crime

: a thing that is thought of as a possible cause of something bad

Full Definition of SUSPECT

: one that is suspected; especially : a person suspected of a crime

See suspect defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SUSPECT

1591

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

³suspect

verb sus·pect \sə-ˈspekt\

: to think that (someone) is possibly guilty of a crime or of doing something wrong

: to think that (something) is possibly the cause of something bad

: to think that (a crime) has possibly been committed

Full Definition of SUSPECT

transitive verb

: to imagine (one) to be guilty or culpable on slight evidence or without proof <suspect him of giving false information>

: to have doubts of : distrust <suspects her motives>

: to imagine to exist or be true, likely, or probable <I suspect he's right>

intransitive verb

: to imagine something to be true or likely

See suspect defined for English-language learners

Origin of SUSPECT

Middle English, from Latin suspectare, frequentative of suspicere to look up at, regard with awe, suspect, from sub-, sus- up, secretly + specere to look at — more at sub-, spy

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to SUSPECT

Synonyms: assume, conjecture, daresay, imagine, presume, speculate, suppose, surmise, guess, suspicion [chiefly dialect]

Antonyms: trust

SUSPECT Defined for Kids

¹suspect

verb sus·pect \sə-ˈspekt\

sus·pect·edsus·pect·ing

Definition of SUSPECT for Kids

: to suppose to be true or likely <I hid the money where no one would suspect.>

: to have doubts of : distrust <I suspect his reasons for helping.>

: to imagine to be guilty without proof <“And if anyone here suspects us of murder, forget it, we both have … alibis.” — Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game>