suspicious

adjective

sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspi-shəs How to pronounce suspicious (audio)
Synonyms of suspicious
1
: tending to arouse suspicion : questionable
suspicious characters
2
: disposed to suspect : distrustful
suspicious of strangers
3
: expressing or indicative of suspicion
a suspicious glance
suspiciously adverb
suspiciousness noun

Synonyms of suspicious

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of suspicious in a Sentence

We were instructed to report any suspicious activity in the neighborhood. The suspicious vehicle was reported to police. Suspicious characters were seen hanging around the bank. He found a suspicious lump on his back and was afraid it might be cancer. Officials are suspicious about her death. His manner made me suspicious.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For most of Saturday afternoon, Boise State treated one of college football’s most daunting stadiums with a suspicious lack of reverence. — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026 Strong authentication can help stop someone who gets hold of a password, while account alerts can warn you when something suspicious happens. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026 Further reporting revealed evidence of several other suspicious deals. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Kyle and his usual pair of special-forces thugs track down a suspiciously large plane (as in, big enough to fly across the Atlantic) and an equally suspicious flight manifest. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for suspicious

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of suspicious was in the 14th century

Rhymes for suspicious

See All Rhymes for suspicious

Browse Nearby Words

suspicionless
suspicious
suspiration
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Suspicious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspicious. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

suspicious

adjective
sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspish-əs How to pronounce suspicious (audio)
1
: likely to arouse suspicion : questionable
suspicious behavior
2
: likely to suspect or distrust
suspicious of strangers
3
: showing suspicion
a suspicious glance
suspiciously adverb
suspiciousness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gist

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All