Synonyms of suspect

suspect 1 of 3

noun

as in defendant

Related Words

• defendant
• culprit
• offender
• arrestee
• fish
• criminal
• detainee
• accused
• accomplice
• lawbreaker
• principal
• misdemeanant
• miscreant
• crook
• malefactor
• outlaw
• perpetrator
• convict
• perp
• desperado
• villain
• jailbird
• trespasser
• wrongdoer
• sinner
• thug
• transgressor
• gangster
• hoodlum
• mobster
• hooligan
• racketeer
• misdoer
• gallows bird
• misfeasor
• button man
• evildoer
• blackhander

Dissimilar Words

• lawman
• gangbuster

suspect

2 of 3

verb

sə-ˈspekt 

1

as in to guess

to form an opinion from little or no evidence

we suspected that the runaway was a little younger than the 16 she claimed to be—more like 13

Synonyms & Similar Words

• guess
• assume
• suppose
• think
• presume
• imagine
• speculate
• suspicion
• surmise
• believe
• daresay
• conjecture
• infer
• conclude
• expect
• deduce
• hypothesize
• gather
• theorize
• reckon
• judge
• conceive
• hypothecate
• take

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prove
• establish
• demonstrate
• determine
• learn
• ascertain
• document
• validate
• find out
• substantiate

2

as in to doubt

to have no trust or confidence in

I suspected him from the moment he said he was an old friend of my sister's, since I probably would have heard about him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• doubt
• question
• distrust
• mistrust
• misdoubt
• disbelieve
• discredit
• discount
• negate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• trust
• depend (on or upon)
• rely (on or upon)
• count (on or upon)
• bank (on or upon)

suspect

3 of 3

adjective

ˈsə-ˌspekt 

as in questionable

giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• questionable
• suspicious
• dubious
• disputable
• doubtful
• problematic
• debatable
• alleged
• fishy
• unclear
• ambiguous
• shaky
• queer
• equivocal
• unlikely
• shady
• doubtable
• dodgy
• dubitable
• supposed
• uncertain
• weak
• moot
• undetermined
• improbable
• undecided
• so-called
• flimsy
• open
• far-fetched

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sure
• certain
• indisputable
• undeniable
• undoubted
• unquestionable
• incontestable
• unproblematic
• indubitable
• definitive
• obvious
• decisive
• questionless
• clear
• positive
• hands-down
• open-and-shut

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of suspect

Noun

The surveillance footage shows the suspect driving behind the 33-year-old rider in the rightmost lane. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Several streets downtown were evacuated after Halifax Regional Police found a vehicle linked to the suspect, Ali Assakereh, parked near the consulate on Monday morning. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Verb

Authorities long suspected Anderson was the gunman, although evidence presented in the case has also raised the possibility that Smith fired the shots. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

An Isaac Asimov story from 1946, set in the future, tells of an ambitious district attorney named Stephen Byerley who is suspected by political opponents of being a robot. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026