suspicion
/səˈspɪʃ.ən/noun, verb
suspicion is spelled S-U-S-P-I-C-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, suspicion means “The act of suspecting something or someone, especially of something wrong” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of suspicion is suspicions.
How many letters and syllables are in suspicion?
| Letters | 9: S-U-S-P-I-C-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.3 times per million words; the 7,445th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is suspicion?
Suspicion appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th 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 suspicion?
- /səˈspɪʃ.ən/
Suspicion has 3 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: En-us-suspicion.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of suspicion
- suspicions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- 'spicion
- suspicioning participle, present
- suspicioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does suspicion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of suspecting something or someone, especially of something wrong.
- 2
The condition of being suspected.
- 3
Uncertainty, doubt.
- 4
A trace, or slight indication.
a suspicion of a smile
- 5
The imagining of something without evidence.
verb
- 1
To suspect; to have suspicions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Suspicion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of suspecting something or someone, especially of something wrong:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | suspicion, soupçon |
| German | Verdacht, Argwohn |
| Portuguese | suspeita, suspeição |
| Spanish | sospecha, suspicacia |
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 suspicion come from?
From Middle English suspecioun, borrowed from Latin suspīciō, suspīciōnem, from suspicere, from sub- (“up to”) with specere (“to look at”). Perhaps partly through the influence of Old French sospeçon (or rather the Anglo-Norman form suspecioun). Equivalent to suspect + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).