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PlainSpell

suspect

/səˈspɛkt/verb, noun, adjective

suspect is spelled S-U-S-P-E-C-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, suspect means “To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in suspect?

Letters7: S-U-S-P-E-C-T
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is suspect?

Suspect appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce suspect?

  • US /səˈspɛkt/
  • Australia /səˈspekt/

As a noun (“A person who is suspected of something, in particular of…”): /ˈsʌspɛkt/, /ˈsɐspekt/, /ˈsʊspɛkt/.

Suspect has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-suspect.wav, En-us-suspect-verb.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-suspect_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with suspect?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as suspect from its last stressed vowel (/ɛkt/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of suspect

  • suspects present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • suspecting participle, present
  • suspected participle, past
  • more suspect comparative
  • most suspect superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does suspect mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof.

    to suspect the presence of disease

  2. 2

    To distrust or have doubts about (something or someone).

    to suspect the truth of a story

  3. 3

    To believe (someone) to be guilty.

    I suspect him of being the thief.

  4. 4

    To have suspicion.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo look up to; to respect.

noun

  1. 1

    A person who is suspected of something, in particular of committing a crime.

adjective

  1. 1

    Viewed with suspicion; suspected.

  2. 2

    nonstandardViewing with suspicion; suspecting.

    Now I’m suspect of other advice that I read in your pages.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate suspect?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of suspect: susp.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Suspect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsuspecter (imagine or suppose to be true, without proof), soupçonner (distrust, have doubts about), suspect (person suspected of something)
Germanvermuten (imagine or suppose to be true, without proof), misstrauen (distrust, have doubts about), Verdächtiger, Verdächtige (person suspected of something), verdächtigen (believe to be guilty), einen Verdacht haben (have suspicion)
Portuguesesuspeitar (imagine or suppose to be true, without proof), suspeito, suspeita (person suspected of something)
Spanishbarruntar, sospechar (imagine or suppose to be true, without proof), sospechoso (person suspected of something), suspecto (viewed with suspicion)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does suspect come from?

From Old French suspect, from Latin suspectus, perfect passive participle of suspiciō (“mistrust, suspect”), from sub (“under”), + speciō (“watch, look at”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after suspect