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suspiciousness

suspiciousness

1 5.4
A habit of not trusting other people's motives
  • noun
  • /səˈspɪʃəsnəs/
translation icon : sospecha
  • He tended to display a suspiciousness that made others wary of approaching him.
  • her own suspiciousness

First, there's a suspiciousness and a sensitivity to narcissistic people.

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Examples

  • To defuse his suspiciousness, I explained the reasons for everything I did and every question I asked.

    Academic text (2001)
  • First, there's a suspiciousness and a sensitivity to narcissistic people.

  • There have been attempts on his life, so his suspiciousness is not without basis.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Part of what troubled him lay in his natural suspiciousness about any kind of open spiritualism.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • It messes with your head and makes it so that you're always looking with a bit of suspiciousness around you.

  • I decided that though Hellfire and Longstreth had not created rancor, they had caused a vast suspiciousness of mankind to be born.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Second, the suspiciousness noted in people with Capgras delusion may be one of the factors that limit the possibilities they consider to those that involve changes in other people rather than changes in themselves and disposes them to think they are the victims of some kind of trick.

    Academic text (1999)
  • On the basis of past findings, it was hypothesized that spouses would differ from one another on measures of assertiveness, open-mindedness, and suspiciousness, and would be similar to each other on intelligence, maturity, optimism, and warm-heartedness.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The communal pastures, periodic communal labor, suspiciousness of outsiders, and occasional communal justice that characterize many indigenous communities all contribute to a perception among mestizo peasants and others that indigenous communities are united and strong.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Her suspiciousness towards new acquaintances often made it difficult for her to form friendships.

Synonyms

skepticism
vssuspiciousness
  • US
124 5.1

A feeling of doubt about an idea or claim when there is not enough proof

is about doubting others' motives rather than doubting the truth of ideas
suspicion
vssuspiciousness
77 3.1

A general feeling that other people cannot be trusted

is the same state of doubting others' motives
mistrust
vssuspiciousness
34 4.0

A feeling of not trusting someone or something

focuses more on doubting others' motives rather than general lack of trust
dubiousness
vssuspiciousness
1 7.8

A feeling of doubt or not trusting something

is about doubting others' motives rather than questioning truth or reliability
distrustfulness
vssuspiciousness
7.5

A feeling of not trusting other people

is more about doubting others' motives rather than general unwillingness to trust
leeriness
vssuspiciousness
7.9

A feeling of being careful and suspicious about people or things that may be unsafe

focuses on doubting others' motives rather than warning about physical danger

Antonyms

Being ready to believe people are honest or reliable

How Distrustful

paranoia
  • Specialized
106 8.2
suspiciousness
1 5.4
skepticism
  • US
124 5.1
wariness
6 5.4
caution
158 2.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

suspiciousness = suspicious (transparent) = suspicious + ness

Standard nominalization of the adjective 'suspicious' with '-ness'; the noun's meaning is directly derived from the adjective.

Etymology

Suspiciousness comes from parts sub- 'under' and specere 'to look', the same root you see in words like suspect and inspect. So suspiciousness is like 'looking under' the surface for hidden reasons, which explains why it means a habit of doubting or not trusting others.