# suspect

Pronunciation: say "suh-SPEKT" /səˈspɛkt/

## Verb

1. To imagine or suppose that something is true or exists, without having proof.
   - Simple: To think something is true even though you have no proof yet.
   - _I suspect foul play, though there is no evidence yet._
   - _Detectives suspected a link between the two robberies._
3. To believe that someone is guilty of a wrongdoing.
   - Simple: To believe that someone has done something wrong.
   - _Investigators suspect a former employee in the data breach._
   - _The jury suspected him long before the final verdict._
4. To distrust someone or something, or to have doubts about its truth or value.
   - Simple: To not trust someone or something, or to have doubts about it.
   - _Many shoppers suspect reviews that sound too good to be true._
   - _He suspected the contract and asked a lawyer to check it._
6. To feel suspicion; to have a sense that something is amiss.
   - Simple: To feel that something may be wrong.
   - _Once the numbers stopped adding up, the auditors began to suspect._
   - _He never suspected, even as the warning signs multiplied._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "SUS-pekt" /ˈsʌs.pɛkt/

2. A person who is suspected of something, especially of committing a crime.
   - Simple: A person the police think may have committed a crime.
   - _The main suspect denied any part in the burglary._
   - _Detectives released the suspect once the alibi checked out._

## Adjective

Pronunciation: say "SUS-pekt" /ˈsʌs.pɛkt/

5. Regarded with suspicion; thought to be untrustworthy or not genuine.
   - Simple: Thought to be false, dishonest, or not to be trusted.
   - _Investigators flagged several suspect transactions in the account._
   - _The witness gave a suspect account that the lawyers quickly tore apart._
7. Inclined to suspicion; regarding someone or something with distrust. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: Feeling that someone or something cannot be trusted.
   - _His suspect glance swept the room for any sign of betrayal._
   - _Years of war had left the old general suspect of even his closest allies._

## Verb

8. To look up to or hold in respect; to esteem. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To look up to and respect someone.

## Origin

Suspect came into English from Old French suspect, which came from Latin suspectus, the perfect passive participle of suspiciō ("to mistrust, suspect"). This Latin verb was formed from sub ("under") plus speciō ("to watch, look at").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/suspect (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).