SUSPECT

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does suspect mean? 

• SUSPECT (noun)
  The noun SUSPECT has 2 senses:

1. someone who is under suspicion

2. a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused

  Familiarity information: SUSPECT used as a noun is rare.

• SUSPECT (adjective)
  The adjective SUSPECT has 1 sense:

1. not as expected

  Familiarity information: SUSPECT used as an adjective is very rare.

• SUSPECT (verb)
  The verb SUSPECT has 3 senses:

1. imagine to be the case or true or probable

2. regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in

3. hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty

  Familiarity information: SUSPECT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUSPECT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Someone who is under suspicion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("suspect" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suspect"):

murder suspect (someone suspected of committing murder)

rape suspect (someone who is suspected of committing rape)

robbery suspect (someone suspected of committing robbery)

Derivation:

suspect (regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in)

suspect (hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

defendant; suspect

Hypernyms ("suspect" is a kind of...):

litigant; litigator ((law) a party to a lawsuit; someone involved in litigation)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "suspect"):

accused (a defendant in a criminal proceeding)

co-defendant; codefendant (a defendant who has been joined together with one or more other defendants in a single action)

Derivation:

suspect (hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty)

• SUSPECT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not as expected

Synonyms:

fishy; funny; shady; suspect; suspicious

Context example:

suspicious behavior

Similar:

questionable (subject to question)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

• SUSPECT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they suspect ... he / she / it suspects
Past simple: suspected   
Past participle: suspected   
-ing form: suspecting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Imagine to be the case or true or probable

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

surmise; suspect

Context example:

I surmised that the butler did it

Hypernyms (to "suspect" is one way to...):

guess; hazard; pretend; venture (put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

suspicion (an impression that something might be the case)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

distrust; mistrust; suspect

Hypernyms (to "suspect" is one way to...):

disbelieve; discredit (reject as false; refuse to accept)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suspect"):

doubt (lack confidence in or have doubts about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

suspect (someone who is under suspicion)

suspicion (doubt about someone's honesty)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The U.S. suspected Bin Laden as the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks

Hypernyms (to "suspect" is one way to...):

guess; imagine; opine; reckon; suppose; think (expect, believe, or suppose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They suspect him to write the letter

Derivation:

suspect (a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused)

suspect (someone who is under suspicion)

suspicion (the state of being suspected)

 Context examples 

We suspect that this core-formation process is a phenomenon unique to the early universe because the early universe, as a whole, was more compact.

(Telescopes Uncover Early Construction of Giant Galaxy, NASA)

Because schizophrenia tends to run in families, scientists have long suspected a genetic component.

(Over 100 Genetic Sites Tied to Schizophrenia, NIH)

“There's a man suspected,” said Mr. Peggotty.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I suspect they do not satisfy Mrs. Weston.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

But the range of those levels during sleep varies widely between individuals and, researchers suspect, is greatly influenced by genetics.

(Researchers identify genetic variations linked to oxygen drops during sleep, National Institutes of Health)

Scientists also have found that, as they suspected, Ceres is much less dense than Earth, the moon, giant asteroid Vesta (Dawn's previous target) and other rocky bodies in our solar system.

(What's Inside Ceres? New Findings from Gravity Data, NASA)

These compounds are found in various foods and many are carcinogenic or are suspected carcinogens.

(Carcinogenic Nitrosamine, NCI Thesaurus)

When she met him she looked surprised, though it was impossible to help suspecting that she had come for that express purpose.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Scientists had suspected that oxidative stress might contribute to the degeneration of the optic nerve, but until now lacked evidence.

(Glaucoma-related genes revealed, NIH)

Then it is he whom you suspect?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)