suspect
English
editEtymology
editFrom Old French suspect, from Latin suspectus, perfect passive participle of suspiciō (“mistrust, suspect”), from sub (“under”), + speciō (“watch, look at”).
Pronunciation
editAdjective, noun
Verb
Verb
editsuspect (third-person singular simple present suspects, present participle suspecting, simple past and past participle suspected)
- (transitive) To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof.
- to suspect the presence of disease
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- From her hand I could suspect no ill.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.
- 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
- WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets.
- (transitive) To distrust or have doubts about (something or someone).
- to suspect the truth of a story
- 1785, James Ridgway, A Dictionary of Literary Conversation[1]:
- An inhabitant of Gubio, in the duchy of Urbino, in Italy, suspecting the fidelity of his wife, he, in a fit of jealousy, in order to find out whether his suspicion was true, did what the ecclesiastick history informs us Origen did from devotion.
- (transitive) To believe (someone) to be guilty.
- I suspect him of being the thief.
- (intransitive) To have suspicion.
- (transitive, obsolete) To look up to; to respect.
Synonyms
edit- (imagine or suppose to be true): imagine, suppose, think
- (distrust, have doubts about): distrust, doubt
- (believe to be guilty): accuse, point the finger at
Translations
editimagine or suppose to be true, without proof
|
distrust, have doubts about
|
believe to be guilty
|
have suspicion
|
Noun
editsuspect (plural suspects)
- A person who is suspected of something, in particular of committing a crime.
- 1942, Casablanca, written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch
- Round up the usual suspects.
- 1942, Casablanca, written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch
Derived terms
editTranslations
editperson suspected of something
|
Adjective
editsuspect (comparative more suspect, superlative most suspect)
- Viewed with suspicion; suspected.
- 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 2:
- What I can do or offer is suspect.
- 2013 January, Katie L. Burke, “Ecological Dependency”, in American Scientist[2], volume 101, number 1, archived from the original on 9 February 2017, page 64:
- In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature, David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.” His quest leads him around the world to study a variety of suspect zoonoses—animal-hosted pathogens that infect humans.
- 2019 July 24, David Austin Walsh, “Flirting With Fascism”, in Jewish Currents[3]:
- Facing a backlash over the use of the term “cosmopolitan,” [Josh] Hawley later defended himself against accusations of antisemitism on Twitter as “an ardent advocate of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.” But this conflation of the state of Israel and the Jewish people is the entire point. To today’s far right, Israel is a firm ally against Islam, while “cosmopolitans,” many of whom just happen to be Jewish, are suspect.
- 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 52:
- What appears suspect about the Beeching Report is how quickly it was railroaded through, with the answers manufactured before the questions were asked.
- (nonstandard) Viewing with suspicion; suspecting.
- 2004, Will Nickell, letter to the editor of Field & Stream, Volume CIX Number 8 (December 2004–January 2005), page 18
- Now I’m suspect of other advice that I read in your pages.
- 2004, Will Nickell, letter to the editor of Field & Stream, Volume CIX Number 8 (December 2004–January 2005), page 18
Synonyms
edit- (viewed with suspicion): dodgy (informal), doubtful, dubious, fishy (informal), suspicious, sus (slang)
Translations
editviewed with suspicion
|
Related terms
editAnagrams
editFrench
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editsuspect (feminine suspecte, masculine plural suspects, feminine plural suspectes)
Usage notes
edit- The -ct- becomes audible in the feminine forms (as [kt]). It is one of very few adjectives in which two mute consonants reappear.
Derived terms
editNoun
editsuspect m (plural suspects, feminine suspecte)
- a suspect
Further reading
edit- “suspect”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Romanian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French suspect, from Latin suspectus.
Adjective
editsuspect m or n (feminine singular suspectă, masculine plural suspecți, feminine and neuter plural suspecte)
Declension
editDeclension of suspect
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | suspect | suspectă | suspecți | suspecte | ||
definite | suspectul | suspecta | suspecții | suspectele | |||
genitive/ dative |
indefinite | suspect | suspecte | suspecți | suspecte | ||
definite | suspectului | suspectei | suspecților | suspectelor |
Noun
editsuspect m (plural suspecți)
Declension
editDeclension of suspect
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) suspect | suspectul | (niște) suspecți | suspecții |
genitive/dative | (unui) suspect | suspectului | (unor) suspecți | suspecților |
vocative | suspectule | suspecților |
Derived terms
editCategories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *speḱ-
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms with audio links
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛkt
- Rhymes:English/ɛkt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English adjectives
- English nonstandard terms
- English heteronyms
- English raising verbs
- en:Law
- en:People
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French terms with irregularly silent consonant
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian adjectives
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns