suspect

To think something is probably true, without knowing for certain.

• I suspect you're right.
• The doctor suspected a problem with his heart.
• We had suspected this would happen.

How to use it: suspect (that) ... (I suspect that she knows more than she says.); suspect something (The doctor suspected an infection.)

Similar words: think, suppose, imagine

Common phrases: suspect a problem, suspect that something, suspect the truth, suspect an infection

To think someone has done something wrong, or that something has caused harm.

• The police suspect her brother.
• They suspected the drug of causing liver damage.
• Who do you suspect of breaking the window?

How to use it: suspect someone/something of something/doing something (Police suspect him of stealing the money.)

Common phrases: suspect someone, suspect foul play, suspect someone of something

To feel unsure whether someone or something is honest, reliable, or true.

• I suspect his motives.
• She began to suspect the truth of his story.
• They had always suspected the reliability of those figures.

Similar words: distrust, doubt, mistrust

Opposites: trust

Common phrases: suspect someone's motives, suspect someone's honesty, suspect the truth

A person believed to have committed a crime, or someone or something believed to have caused a problem.

• Police arrested a suspect.
• The detectives questioned three suspects about the theft.
• A faulty cable is the main suspect in the power failure.

How to use it: a suspect in something (He is a suspect in the robbery.)

Common phrases: prime suspect, murder suspect, question a suspect, suspect in something

Possibly false, dishonest, unsafe, or likely to cause problems.

• Those figures look suspect.
• Police found a suspect package at the station.
• The evidence used against her was highly suspect.

Similar words: questionable, dubious, suspicious

Opposites: trustworthy, reliable

Common phrases: suspect evidence, a suspect package, highly suspect, suspect claims