suspicion
B1Neutral. Common in formal, informal, spoken, and written contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A feeling that someone might be guilty of something dishonest or wrong, or that something is not quite right, without having definite proof.
A slight trace or hint of something; a tentative or slight belief; the condition of being suspected.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Suggests a degree of doubt and lack of full confidence, often based on intuition or incomplete evidence. Can range from a vague unease to a strong belief in someone's guilt.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is largely identical. The primary difference is in the verb form 'suspect', where British English may more readily use constructions like 'I suspect him of lying', while American English equally uses 'I suspect that he is lying.'
Connotations
Similar connotations in both varieties. Can imply shrewdness ('She had her suspicions from the start') or unwarranted prejudice ('He was arrested on mere suspicion').
Frequency
Slightly higher frequency in crime/legal contexts in American English data. The phrase 'above suspicion' is equally common.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
suspicion that...suspicion of (something/doing something)suspicion aboutsuspicion towardsunder suspicionabove suspicionVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “above suspicion”
- “a cloud of suspicion”
- “under a cloud of suspicion”
- “suspicion falls on someone”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Internal audits are conducted whenever there is a suspicion of financial misconduct.
Academic
The researcher viewed the anomalous data with suspicion, leading to a replication of the experiment.
Everyday
I have a suspicion we're going the wrong way; nothing looks familiar.
Technical
The network security system flags any activity that matches the pattern of suspicious behaviour.
Examples
By Part of Speech
noun
British English
- The evidence did nothing to allay my suspicions.
- He was discharged without a stain on his character, completely above suspicion.
American English
- She had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't telling the truth.
- The officer had reasonable suspicion to conduct a search.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I have a suspicion it will rain today.
- The teacher had a suspicion about who drew on the board.
- He looked at the old map with suspicion.
- Her strange behaviour aroused the suspicion of her neighbours.
- A lingering suspicion remained that the contract had not been awarded fairly.
- The findings confirmed our worst suspicions about the safety of the device.
- The minister's actions cast a pall of suspicion over the entire department.
- His theory, while elegant, is viewed with deep suspicion by traditionalists in the field.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Sounds like 'SUS-picion'. Think of 'SUS' as in 'suspicious' – the 'icion' is the feeling (-ion) that makes someone SUS.
Conceptual Metaphor
SUSPICION IS A SUBSTANCE (arouse, allay, cast), SUSPICION IS A BURDEN (carry, under), SUSPICION IS A PLANT (growing, seeds of).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid directly translating 'под подозрением' as 'under the suspicion'. The correct phrase is 'under suspicion'.
- Do not use 'suspicion' for a 'suspense' in a story; that's a false friend ('напряженное ожидание').
- 'Suspicion' is a noun; the verb is 'to suspect' ('подозревать').
Common Mistakes
- Using 'suspicion' as a verb (e.g., 'I suspicion something' – INCORRECT; use 'I suspect').
- Confusing 'suspicion' with 'suspense'.
- Using wrong preposition: 'suspicion on' instead of 'suspicion about/towards/of'.
Practice
Quiz
Which phrase means 'to be considered definitely not guilty'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Suspicion' often implies a belief that something bad or wrong is the case (e.g., guilt, deception). 'Doubt' is a broader term for a lack of certainty or conviction, which may be positive, negative, or neutral.
Rarely. Its core meaning is tied to mistrust or belief in wrongdoing. It can be neutral when meaning 'a slight trace' (e.g., 'a suspicion of garlic in the sauce'), but even then, it implies something is barely detectable, not overtly positive.
It is both. As a feeling, it can be uncountable ('view with suspicion'). When referring to specific instances or thoughts, it is countable ('I have three main suspicions about what happened').
The adjective is 'suspicious'. It describes someone who has suspicions ('a suspicious neighbour') or something that causes suspicion ('suspicious activity').