the state of mind or feeling of one who suspects: Suspicion kept him awake all night long.
an instance of suspecting something or someone.
state of being suspected: under suspicion; above suspicion.
imagination of anything to be the case or to be likely; a vague notion of something.
a slight trace, hint, or suggestion: a suspicion of a smile.
verb (used with object)
Nonstandard. to suspect.
Origin of suspicion
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin suspīciōn- (stem of suspīciō), equivalent to suspīc- (variant stem of suspicere “to look from below, suspect” ) + -iōn--ion;see suspect
SYNONYMS FOR suspicion
2 doubt, mistrust, misgiving.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR suspicion ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for suspicion
2. Suspicion,distrust are terms for a feeling that appearances are not reliable. Suspicion is the positive tendency to doubt the trustworthiness of appearances and therefore to believe that one has detected possibilities of something unreliable, unfavorable, menacing, or the like: to feel suspicion about the honesty of a prominent man.Distrust may be a passive want of trust, faith, or reliance in a person or thing: to feel distrust of one's own ability.
The anti-vaccine movement is based on suspicion of authority, beginning with medical authority.
How Pseudoscientists Get Away With It - Facts So Romantic|Stuart Firestein|August 28, 2020|Nautilus
Some of the more general objections to the project may have more to do with suspicions of government and for-profit businesses than with mosquito biology.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight|Susan Milius|August 22, 2020|Science News
When two more people were beaten the next day, apparently on the same suspicion, the government shut off the state’s internet to stop the rumors from spreading.
How India became the world’s leader in internet shutdowns|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Indeed, despite the algorithm’s somewhat weird writing pattern and occasional errors, only three or four of the dozens of people who commented on his top post on Hacker News raised suspicions that it might have been generated by an algorithm.
A college kid’s fake, AI-generated blog fooled tens of thousands. This is how he made it.|Karen Hao|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Menzie Chinn, an economist at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, said the July jobs report only confirmed his suspicion that the economic recovery was starting to plateau.
What Economists Fear Will Happen Without More Unemployment Aid|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|August 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Those who served abroad were treated with suspicion that they had been infected by European diplomacy.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sena might have felt insulated from suspicion in part because of his friendly relationship with local police.
The Father Who Made His Kids Have Sex With a Dog|John L. Smith|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Suspicion has focused on the government of Qatar, which has strong ties to Nusra, as the source of the money.
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage|Shane Harris|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Assessing rape allegations gets still more challenging in the Middle East, where even the suspicion of rape can break families.
Escaping Assad’s Rape Prisons: A Survivor Tells Her Story|Jamie Dettmer|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A mind like hers, once opening to suspicion, made rapid progress.
Emma|Jane Austen
I can arrest him on suspicion, and won't let him go until I get at the truth.
The Opal Serpent|Fergus Hume
Julius Cæsar's wife was put away on suspicion, but Faustina was worse than that!
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8|Elbert Hubbard
At the frontiers you will inevitably be stopped and identified; but under my roof you will be safe from all pursuit and suspicion.
Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 3|Various
There had been no quarrel between them, and no suspicion or suggestion of a quarrel.
The Love Affairs of Lord Byron|Francis Henry Gribble
British Dictionary definitions for suspicion
suspicion
/ (səˈspɪʃən) /
noun
the act or an instance of suspecting; belief without sure proof, esp that something is wrong
the feeling of mistrust of a person who suspects
the state of being suspectedto be shielded from suspicion
a slight trace
above suspicionin such a position that no guilt may be thought or implied, esp through having an unblemished reputation
on suspicionas a suspect
under suspicionregarded with distrust
Derived forms of suspicion
suspicional, adjectivesuspicionless, adjective
Word Origin for suspicion
C14: from Old French sospeçon, from Latin suspīciō distrust, from suspicere to mistrust; see suspect