səˈspenchən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin suspension-, suspensio, from Latin suspensus (past participle of suspendere to suspend) + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : the act of suspending or the state or period of being suspended, interrupted, or abrogated
his business duties forced the suspension of his hobbies — Current Biography
an actress under suspension from a moving-picture studio for failing to report to work
as
a. : temporary forced withdrawal from the exercise of office, powers, prerogatives, privileges as a member or communicant
suspension may be employed to remove an apparently seriously objectionable boy or girl from school — H.R.Douglass
a rash of police suspensions takes place because of alleged shakedowns — R.E.Merriam
b. : temporary withholding (as of belief, decision, or judgment)
c. : temporary remission of action or execution (as of a law, regulation, or rule)
d. Scots law
(1) : a judicial remedy to prevent a threatened injury or to stop an unlawful proceeding brought in the Bill Chamber before a lord ordinary who may require caution before granting emergency relief and who then hears the case on its merits — called also suspension and interdict
(2) : a petition brought in the Bill Chamber by a prisoner before a lord ordinary to satisfy him that the imprisonment is illegal — called also suspension and liberation
e.
(1) : the holding over of one or more musical tones of a chord into the following chord, thus producing a momentary discord and suspending the concord which the ear expects ; specifically : such a dissonance which resolves downward
(2) : the tone thus held over — compare retardation 5
f. : a penalty by which a cleric is forbidden wholly or in part to exercise the power of orders or office or to enjoy the fruits of his benefice
g. : stoppage of payment of obligations or engagements : failure — used especially of a business or a bank
h. : a rhetorical device whereby the hearer is kept in suspense over what is to follow or over the inference or conclusion to be drawn
“eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard …” is a suspension
i. : an abbreviation (as IHS for ΙΗΣΟΥΣ Jesus) consisting of the first letter or the first part of a word accompanied by a special mark indicating the omission of the rest : an abbreviation (as ppt for precipitate ) consisting of the first letter or part of a word and the first letter or part of the second or third syllable of the word
2.
a. : the act of hanging or the state of being hung
the simple stake was employed for the impalement as well as for the suspension of those under sentence — Victor Schultze
b.
(1) : the state of a substance when its particles are mixed with but undissolved in a fluid or solid
dust particles in suspension in air
silt in suspension in water
droplets in suspension in a gas
(2) : a substance in this state
a suspension of fine sand in water
(3) : a two-phase system consisting of a finely divided solid dispersed in a solid, liquid, or gas — compare dispersion 4b, emulsion 2a, solution 2b(1)
3. : something suspended
the swinging bridge, a suspension of steel cables with stone towers and a wooden walkway — American Guide Series: Minnesota
4.
a. : a device by which something (as a magnetic needle) is suspended
a bifilar suspension
b. : the system of springs and other devices supporting the upper part of a vehicle on the axles
independent front-wheel suspension has entirely replaced the rigid front axle on American cars — Joseph Heitner
c. : the act, process, or manner in which the pendulum or torsion balance of a timepiece is suspended