I. səˈspishən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, alteration (influenced by Latin suspicion-, suspicio suspicion, from suspicere to suspect + -ion-, -io -ion) of suspecion, from Middle French sospeçon suspicion (influenced in meaning by Latin suspicion-, suspicio ), from Late Latin suspection-, suspectio act of looking up at, awe, from Latin suspectus (past participle of suspicere to look up at, regard with awe) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at suspect
1.
a. : the act or an instance of suspecting : imagination or apprehension of something wrong or hurtful without proof or on slight evidence
in the inspection and interrogation of applicants the following points should lead to a suspicion of tuberculosis — H.G.Armstrong
b. : the mental uneasiness aroused in one who suspects : mistrust , doubt
he succeeded in dispelling their suspicions and won their confidence — L.R.Hafen
an independent, he was regarded with suspicion by both parties — W.C.Ford
the intentions of other nations were viewed with great caution, if not suspicion — Theodore Hsi-En Chen
her weakness for peanuts was balanced by a dark suspicion of certain other common vegetables — R.K.Leavitt
c. : the state of being suspected
protected from suspicion by her complete lack of conventional attractiveness — Gerald Bullett
relieved of his post on suspicion of Communist sympathies — Madaline Nichols
college teams, the amateur standing of which is not always above suspicion — American Guide Series: New York
came under the suspicion of having been implicated in the revolution — H.S.Reichle
2. : inkling , intimation , hint
there had after all been nothing but whispered suspicions, old wives' tales, fables invented by men — Sherwood Anderson
not to have had the least suspicion of the approaching marriage
3. : a slight touch : a mere trace : suggestion
never allow even a suspicion of rust to appear on or in your rifle — Hunter's Encyclopedia
just a suspicion of light in the east — Hamlin Garland
without a suspicion of dizziness
without a suspicion of scandal
Synonyms: see uncertainty
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
chiefly substandard : suspect