# suspended

Pronunciation: say "suh-SPEN-did" /səˈspɛndɪd/

## Adjective

1. Hanging from a point or support overhead.
   - Simple: Hanging down from a point above.
   - _The chandelier remained suspended from the vaulted ceiling by a single iron chain._
   - _Acrobats performed high above the stage, suspended from slender steel cables._
3. Brought to a stop for a period of time, so that it is interrupted or put off until later.
   - Simple: Stopped for a while, so it is paused or put off until later.
   - _Once the lightning passed, the players took the field again and the suspended game picked up in the seventh inning._
   - _Flights out of the city remained suspended for two days after the blizzard._
4. Of a criminal penalty: pronounced but not enforced, provided the offender meets set conditions and commits no further offense.
   - Simple: Not carried out, as a punishment put on hold unless the person breaks the rules again.
   - _The court handed down a suspended sentence on the condition that he stay out of trouble for two years._
   - _Her lawyer argued for a suspended sentence rather than time behind bars._
5. Paid for in advance by a customer and left for someone less fortunate to claim at no cost.
   - Simple: Already paid for by one customer so a person in need can have it for free.
   - _A regular customer ordered two suspended coffees for whoever needed them next._
   - _Anyone struggling that week could ask for a suspended sandwich at the counter._
6. Of a chord: built with the third omitted and replaced by either the major second or the perfect fourth, creating a sense of unresolved tension.
   - Simple: In music, describes a chord whose usual middle note is swapped for a different one.
   - _The song opens with a suspended chord that finally resolves on the chorus._
   - _He voiced a suspended chord, leaving the third out so the harmony felt open._
7. Of solid particles, dispersed throughout a fluid without dissolving or settling.
   - Simple: Used about tiny bits that stay spread through a liquid or gas and do not dissolve.
   - _Suspended sediment gave the river its cloudy brown color._
   - _The particles remained suspended in the solution rather than sinking to the bottom._

## Verb

2. Simple past and past participle of suspend. — simple past and past participle of suspend
   - Simple: Simple past and past participle of suspend. Use this form when talking about something already stopped or hung up.
   - _Officials suspended the ferry service during the hurricane._
   - _The committee suspended its meeting until further notice._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Attached slightly below the summit of the ovary.

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