Skip to main content
suspect

suspect

78 5.3
Seen as probably dishonest or not trustworthy
  • adjective
  • /ˈsʌspɛkt/
: sospechoso
  • Her sudden change in attitude felt suspect to her friends during the meeting.
  • highly suspect
  • morally suspect
  • become suspect

Yeah, there's some, there's some suspect producers out there for sure.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The whole thing looks highly suspect, highly implausible, doesn't make any sense, but that's it.

  • There is something very suspect about how hard it is to open this bin.

  • Your husband wanted to sell, and your story about him is suspect.

  • It's silly, and a bit suspect, I think.

  • "Generosity from an enemy is always suspect, but perhaps you are merely a fool."

    Fiction book (2001)
  • It's against regulations to cook because, many suspect, the dining commons are trying to cut down on competition.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • It's trying to help, but these techniques and methods are just a bit suspect and don't often help.

  • If your story doesn't match ours, then we'll all be suspect.

  • Ireland hasn't mastered the art of chip shaping because some of these are very suspect in terms of their shape.

  • The effectiveness of post-tenure evaluation is highly suspect in many of the colleges surveyed.

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

suspicious
vssuspect
261 2.7

Causing doubt because it seems wrong or illegal

is the general view of being doubtful or possibly not honest
suspected
vssuspect
146 3.7

Thought likely to be true but not yet proven

is the general judgment of being not trusted or doubtful, not accusation
dishonest
vssuspect
128 2.5

Likely to lie or cheat to get something for yourself

is a broader attitude of doubt about honesty, not proven action
dubious
vssuspect
88 6.5

Not clearly true or trustworthy and causing doubt

is more directly a judgment of being regarded with doubt or not honest
shady
vssuspect
  • Informal
87 5.5

Not honest and likely to do illegal things

is a more general state of being doubted or mistrusted, not criminal
fishy
vssuspect
45 4.4

Seeming dishonest and making people feel suspicious

is a wider label for being regarded with doubt or mistrust
untrustworthy
vssuspect
20 4.8

Not honest or reliable with promises

is about being judged with doubt rather than proven not honest
funny
vssuspect
7 4.1

Strange in a way that makes you think something is wrong

is focused on being regarded with doubt about honesty or truth
perfidious
vssuspect
  • Formal
2 9.2

Likely to betray someone's trust by lying or cheating

is about being regarded with doubt, not active betrayal
a bit sketchy
vssuspect
  • Informal
1 8.6

A little suspicious and not easy to trust

expresses a general state of doubt or lack of trust
sussy
vssuspect
  • Slang
1 9.9

A person or thing that seems dishonest and not trustworthy

is the neutral formal term for being distrusted or doubted

Antonyms

342 2.7

Able to be trusted to do what is expected

87 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

Compounds

A person believed to have killed someone but not proven guilty

A person police think stole things from a shop or house

2 6.5

A person people think forced someone to have sex

How Trustworthy

trustworthy
87 2.1
suspect
78 5.3
untrustworthy
20 4.8
dishonest
128 2.5
corrupt
298 4.4

Surface Forms

suspect positive

Etymology

Suspect comes from the Latin parts sub- ('under') and specere ('to look'), giving the idea of being 'looked at' with doubt. So if something is suspect, people do not fully trust it and they view it with suspicion.