suspicious

adjective

sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspi-shəs 

1

: tending to arouse suspicion : questionable

suspicious characters

2

: disposed to suspect : distrustful

suspicious of strangers

3

: expressing or indicative of suspicion

a suspicious glance

suspiciously adverb

suspiciousness noun

Synonyms of suspicious

• questionable
• dubious
• disputable
• suspect
• doubtful
• problematic
• debatable

Examples of suspicious in a Sentence

We were instructed to report any suspicious activity in the neighborhood.

The suspicious vehicle was reported to police.

Suspicious characters were seen hanging around the bank.

He found a suspicious lump on his back and was afraid it might be cancer.

Officials are suspicious about her death.

His manner made me suspicious.

Recent Examples on the Web

The cases at New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State each involved unnamed third-party bettors, with the NCAA using information from integrity monitoring services that flagged suspicious betting activity. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025

If you're redirected to a CAPTCHA on an unfamiliar site or after clicking a suspicious link, stop immediately. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2025

But by this time banks across the world had already become suspicious of OneCoin and were shutting down its accounts. —Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

Homicide detectives deemed the death suspicious and began investigating. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for suspicious

• adventitious
• cementitious
• expeditious
• inauspicious
• injudicious
• meretricious
• repetitious
• superstitious
• surreptitious
• unambitious
• unpropitious
• unsuspicious

Kids Definition

suspicious

adjective

sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspish-əs 

1

: likely to arouse suspicion : questionable

suspicious behavior

2

: likely to suspect or distrust

suspicious of strangers

3

: showing suspicion

a suspicious glance

suspiciously adverb

suspiciousness noun