Definition Definition

suspect - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'suspect' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Suspect [ a.]
- Suspicious; inspiring distrust.
- Suspected; distrusted.
- Suspicion.
- One who, or that which, is suspected; an object of suspicion; -- formerly applied to persons and things; now, only to persons suspected of crime.
2 . Suspect [ v. i.]
- To imagine guilt; to have a suspicion or suspicions; to be suspicious.
3 . Suspect [ v. t.]
- To imagine to exist; to have a slight or vague opinion of the existence of, without proof, and often upon weak evidence or no evidence; to mistrust; to surmise; -- commonly used regarding something unfavorable, hurtful, or wrong; as, to suspect the presence of disease.
- To imagine to be guilty, upon slight evidence, or without proof; as, to suspect one of equivocation.
- To hold to be uncertain; to doubt; to mistrust; to distruct; as, to suspect the truth of a story.
- To look up to; to respect.

Meaning of 'suspect' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . suspect [ v]
Meaning (1):
- imagine to be the case or true or probable
Example in sentence:
  • I surmised that the butler did it;
  • I suspect he is a fugitive
Meaning (2):
- hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty
Example in sentence:
  • The U.S. suspected Bin Laden as the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks
3 . suspect [ s]
Meaning (3):
- not as expected
Example in sentence:
  • a shady deal;
  • her motives were suspect;
  • some definitely queer goings-on;
  • suspicious behavior;
  • there was something fishy about the accident;
  • up to some funny business