suspect

1 of 3

adjective

sus·pect ˈsə-ˌspekt

sə-ˈspekt

Synonyms of suspect next

: regarded or deserving to be regarded with suspicion : suspected

investigates suspect employees

: doubtful, questionable

whose skills are suspect—

Peter Vecsey

suspect

2 of 3

noun

sus·pect ˈsə-ˌspekt

: one that is suspected

especially : a person suspected of a crime

suspect

3 of 3

verb

sus·pect sə-ˈspekt

suspected; suspecting; suspects

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

Example Sentences

Adjective The room had a suspect odor. since she was carrying no cash or credit cards, her claim to the store's detectives that she had intended to pay for the items was suspect Noun One suspect has been arrested. She is a possible suspect in connection with the kidnapping. The prime suspect for the food poisoning is the potato salad. Verb He's suspected in four burglaries. The police do not suspect murder in this case. The fire chief suspects arson. I suspect it will rain. Call the doctor immediately if you suspect you've been infected. The latest research confirms what scientists have long suspected. I suspect she's not who she says she is. “We haven't done our homework.” “I suspected as much.” I suspected his motives in giving me the money. I have reason to suspect her sincerity when she makes promises like that. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Dallas police are searching for a third suspect in a March slaying at a Stemmons Corridor motel. —

Jamie Landers, Dallas News, 17 May 2023 In the case of a fleeing suspect, officers can use deadly force to prevent the person from escaping under certain circumstances. —

Lea Skene, USA TODAY, 17 May 2023 The incident in New York comes after a suspect was arrested at the couple's home in Montecito at around 2 a.m. on Monday. —

Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, 17 May 2023 One victim was struck in the face by a suspect carrying a handgun, according to police. —

Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023 One such incident was a daytime theft at a Walgreens store in 2021 captured on video in which a suspect casually grabbed items from shelves, tossed them into a black bag and left the store, brushing past the store’s security guard and several onlookers. —

Veronica Miracle, CNN, 16 May 2023 No name or age were available immediately, and information about a suspect or motive could not be learned. —

Martin Weil, Washington Post, 16 May 2023 Farmington Police Deputy Chief Baric Crum said in a press briefing that the suspect, who died, was a male 18-year-old. —

Talal Ansari, wsj.com, 16 May 2023 The family of one of the University of Idaho murder victims is speaking out ahead of the suspect's court hearing scheduled for June. —

Corin Cesaric, Peoplemag, 15 May 2023

Verb

But the reasons Whittington came back may not be ones most would suspect. —

Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 27 Apr. 2023 To avoid wasting ammo, targets had to be big enough and suspected enemy positions confirmed by multiple sources to warrant launching attacks. —

Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2023 On the heels of the tax raid of BBC offices, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials alleged that the BBC could be receiving questionable funding from China, while others suspected tax irregularities. —

Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2023 Six California condors in the Arizona-Utah population are confirmed to have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza, and 12 from the same flock have died of what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suspects to be the disease, according to a Wednesday update. —

Claire Hao, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Apr. 2023 After arriving at the castle and settling in for lunch, Teresa accidentally outed how Jennifer had a sidebar conversation with Angie the psychic from the Turkish tea reading — just as the other women suspected. —

Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2023 The findings confirmed what many had already suspected: that the church buried members of its congregation on the property. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2023 Days after the shooting, school officials revealed that administrators at Richneck Elementary had suspected the child may have had a weapon before the shooting occurred. —

Ben Finley, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Apr. 2023 Tartaglione was convicted of luring Martin Luna to a deadly trap in Chester, roughly 60 miles north of New York City, after suspecting that Luna stole money from him, Williams said. —

Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'suspect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

Verb

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

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1591, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of suspect was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Suspect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspect. Accessed 27 May. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

suspect

1 of 3 adjective

sus·pect ˈsəs-ˌpekt

sə-ˈspekt

: regarded with suspicion

suspect

2 of 3 noun

sus·pect ˈsəs-ˌpekt

: one that is suspected

especially : a person suspected of a crime

suspect

3 of 3 verb

sus·pect sə-ˈspekt

: to have doubts about

: to believe to be guilty without proof

suspect someone of theft

: to suppose to be true or likely

I suspect that it will rain

Legal Definition

suspect

1 of 3 adjective

sus·pect ˈsəs-ˌpekt, sə-ˈspekt

: regarded or deserving to be regarded with suspicion or heightened scrutiny

suspect

2 of 3 noun

sus·pect ˈsəs-ˌpekt

: a person suspected of a crime

also : a person apprehended for but not yet charged with an offense

suspect

3 of 3 transitive verb

sus·pect sə-ˈspekt

: to imagine (one) to be guilty on slight evidence or without proof

: to imagine to exist or be probable

they had reasonable cause to suspect abuse

Etymology

Adjective

Latin suspectus, from past participle of suspicere to look up at, regard with awe, suspect, from sub- sus- up, secretly + specere to look at