suspect
1 of 3verb/səˈspɛkt/
Forms:suspects,suspecting,suspected,suspected
1
to think that something is probably true, especially something bad, without having proof
B2transitive- I suspect he's been lying about where he was last night.
- He didn't say anything, but I suspect he's planning a surprise party for her birthday.
- Considering the clouds on the horizon, I suspect it might rain this afternoon.
- She suspects there's more to the story than he's telling her.
- They suspect the company may be hiding some important information.
Synonyms:
2
to think that someone may have committed a crime, without having proof
B2transitive- The police began to suspect him after they found his fingerprints at the crime scene.
- She started to suspect her neighbor of stealing her packages when they frequently went missing.
- He began to suspect his business partner of embezzling funds when discrepancies appeared in the accounts.
- They suspect the employee of taking money from the cash register.
- The detective suspects the woman of being the mastermind behind the crime.
3
to doubt the truth, honesty, or reliability of someone or something
transitive- After the unexpected system crash, the IT team suspected a possible malware attack.
- When the famous artifact went missing, some historians suspected an inside job at the museum.
- I suspect the company's claims about their products.
- I suspect his story about winning the race.
Antonyms: