suspect

suspect — verb

1. to believe that a certain thing is probably the case or will take place, even wh

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to believe that a certain thing is probably the case or will take place, even when you lack full evidence — such as thinking rain is on its way or that a price may increase.

Example

Liam suspected that the flight would be cancelled because of the thick fog.

suspect + that-clause — expressing a belief without proof

The doctor suspects the test results are wrong and has ordered new ones.

Common collocations
  • suspect (that)...
  • strongly suspect
  • widely suspected
  • suspect foul play
Synonyms
  • believe

    more neutral; 'suspect' adds doubt or negativity that 'believe' does not carry

  • imagine

    suggests less conviction; 'I imagine so' is softer than 'I suspect so'

  • guess

    more informal and based on less evidence

Antonyms
  • know

    implies certainty based on evidence, which suspect explicitly lacks

  • prove

    to establish truth with evidence, the opposite of suspecting without proof

Grammar Patterns

suspect + that-clause

suspect + noun phrase + to be

Usage Note

The object is usually a that-clause expressing a belief about something negative or unexpected. This sense differs from sense 2, where the object is a person believed to be guilty of wrongdoing.

Common Mistakes

I suspect good weather tomorrow.
I expect good weather tomorrow.
'suspect' carries a negative or doubtful tone, so using it for a positive prediction sounds odd unless you intend irony.

2. to believe that a particular person is probably guilty of an illegal act or wron

2.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to believe that a particular person is probably guilty of an illegal act or wrongdoing, even though you do not yet have clear proof — for instance, suspecting an employee of theft or a driver of causing an accident.

Example

Hamza was suspected of stealing cash from the shop where he worked.

passive: be suspected of [wrongdoing]

The police suspected the driver of causing the accident on purpose.

suspect + someone + of + gerund

Common collocations
  • suspect someone of
  • suspected of murder/theft/fraud
  • prime suspect
  • strongly suspected of
Synonyms
  • accuse

    stronger — accusation is a formal claim, while suspicion is a belief without certainty

  • point the finger at

    informal idiom meaning to identify someone as likely guilty

Antonyms
  • trust

    to believe someone is honest and innocent, the opposite of suspecting guilt

  • clear

    to prove someone is not guilty after they were suspected

Grammar Patterns

suspect + someone + of + noun/gerund

be suspected of + noun/gerund

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive pattern 'be suspected of + noun/gerund' to describe the person under investigation. The active pattern 'suspect someone of (doing) something' names who is doing the suspecting. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 takes a person or persons as object, not a situation or outcome.

Common Mistakes

The police suspected him for stealing.
The police suspected him of stealing.
the correct preposition after 'suspect someone' in this sense is 'of', not 'for'.

3. to hold doubts about whether something is honest, safe, or dependable — for exam

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to hold doubts about whether something is honest, safe, or dependable — for example, distrusting a person's motives, a bargain that looks too good to be real, or food with a strange smell.

Example

Élise suspected the cheap offer was a trick and decided not to buy anything.

suspect + that-clause — doubting the value of an offer

The manager suspected the supplier's honesty after goods arrived damaged twice.

suspect + noun phrase (honesty) — distrusting character

Common collocations
  • suspect motives
  • suspect the honesty of
  • suspect foul play
  • begin to suspect
Synonyms
  • distrust

    very close in meaning; 'distrust' is a general lack of trust, while 'suspect' focuses on having reasons to doubt

  • question

    more active — questioning something means examining it critically; suspecting is a state of doubt

  • doubt

    broader; 'doubt' can be about any claim, while 'suspect' implies you think something specific is wrong

Antonyms
  • trust

    to have confidence in something's honesty or reliability

  • believe

    to accept something as true or honest

Grammar Patterns

suspect + noun phrase (motives, honesty, intentions)

suspect + that-clause

Usage Note

The object is typically an abstract quality (motives, honesty, intentions) or a thing whose reliability is in question — not a person suspected of a crime (that belongs to sense 2). Common in everyday contexts like food safety, business deals, and online information.

Common Mistakes

I suspect this restaurant.' (too vague)
I suspect the quality of the food at this restaurant.
when expressing doubt, the object needs to specify WHAT is unreliable about the thing.

suspect — noun

suspect — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

Suspect (verb sense 2) and doubt point in opposite directions: to suspect someone of a crime means you think they probably did it, while to doubt someone's guilt means you lean toward believing they did not. Distrust is a broader state — a general lack of confidence in someone's honesty that does not require a specific accusation. Accuse is the strongest of the four: it is a formal, public claim that someone did something wrong, often made in front of authorities. For instance, a detective might suspect a neighbour because of muddy footprints, distrust the neighbour's alibi, doubt that a 70-year-old could climb through a window, but only accuse the person after finding solid evidence.

suspect ↗doubt ↗distrustaccuse ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • murder suspect
  • robbery suspect
  • terror suspect

Adverbs

  • strongly suspect
  • widely suspected
  • rightly suspected
  • privately suspect

Phrases

  • prime suspect
  • main suspect
  • suspect in custody

Prepositions

  • suspect of
  • suspected by

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'suspect' comes from Latin 'suspectus', the past participle of 'suspicere' — formed from 'sub-' (from below) and 'specere' (to look at). The original image was of looking at something from below or looking up at it, which shifted to mean looking at someone with mistrust. It passed through Old French and entered English in the 14th century, first as a verb and later as a noun and adjective.