DictionaryAI

suggest

verb
suhg-JEST/sə(ɡ)ˈd͡ʒɛst/UKsuh-JEST/səˈd͡ʒɛst/

Formssuggests, suggesting, suggested

4 meanings of suggest

Practice

  1. 1
    proposeverbtransitive
    To put an idea or plan forward as a possibility for others to consider, often as a recommendation.

    The consultant suggested a phased rollout to reduce risk.

    I suggest we postpone the meeting until everyone is available.

    Usagesuggest that we go or suggest going (not incorrect: suggest us to go). The person comes after to: suggested it to me.

    Similarpropose, recommend, advise, venture

  2. 2
    indicateverbtransitive
    To bring an idea to mind; to lead someone to suppose something is the case.

    These erosion patterns suggest a much older origin for the canyon.

    Footprints in the snow suggested that someone had passed by recently.

    UsageThe subject is usually a thing, not a person: the data suggests, the evidence suggests that…

    Similarindicate

    Note

    Critics stretch it toward resemblance, as when Nathan Rabin writes that a sidekick "suggests Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2." Unlike the sense of hinting, nobody needs to intend anything.

  3. 3
    implyverbtransitive
    To convey something indirectly, implying it without stating it openly.

    The author's careful wording suggests doubt about the official account.

    I don't want to suggest that anyone acted dishonestly.

    UsageIn speech, are you suggesting that…? is often a challenge, and I don't mean to suggest that… softens a hint.

    Similarimply, hint, insinuate, intimate

    Note

    The Latin behind the verb pictures something carried up from underneath: sub, "under", plus gero, "carry". That image suits implication, where the idea surfaces without being stated outright.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    verbobsoletetransitive
    To lead a person astray; to tempt or prompt someone toward evil.
    Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested.
    c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”
    Note

    An obsolete sense that survives in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona (c. 1590–1591), where "tender youth is soon suggested" means the young are easily led astray. The object is the person tempted, not the idea, so the passive takes a human subject. Recognize it in older texts, but do not revive it, because a modern reader will hear a modern meaning, most likely the recommending sense.

Practice

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Origin

Coined from Latin suggestus, the past participle of suggerō ("bring up, furnish, advise, suggest"), which is formed from sub ("from below, under") plus gerō ("bear, carry").

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts