SUSPECTS Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

suspects 1 of 2

noun

plural of suspect

as in defendants

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suspects

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of suspect

as in guesses

to form an opinion from little or no evidence we suspected that the runaway was a little younger than the 16 she claimed to be—more like 13

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in doubts

to have no trust or confidence in I suspected him from the moment he said he was an old friend of my sister's, since I probably would have heard about him

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of suspects

Noun

Two suspects hit several businesses in the Fairfax District early Tuesday morning, with one suspect in police custody. — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 6 May 2026 Deem fired his weapon at the suspects, but no injuries were reported, and the disturbance suspect has not been apprehended. — Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 25 Nov. 2025 One of the suspects was found guilty of first-degree murder in June 2021, among a list of other charges, while the other suspect pleaded guilty in early 2020 to 17 counts, including murder charges. — Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025

Verb

Anthropic’s work even shows that internal signals can reveal when a model suspects it’s being tested, detects manipulation or is pursuing a hidden objective. — Nicola Sfondrini, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Laurel suspects that maybe some of the books in her library have been banned, but she’s given up trying to find out. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 Kamara suspects the unexplained adjustment fees account for some of the difference. — Tara Lynch, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026 Because keeping order takes energy, which mitochondria supply, Clark suspects part of Jonathan’s longevity secret might be a feedback loop. — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026 Che suspects the white writers pitched this to him, and dares him to name one character without looking at the cue cards. — Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2026 Balasubramanian suspects that even this kind of radical model doesn’t go far enough. — Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026 British Columbia suspects that OpenAI actually wanted to avoid drawing a hard line that would require OpenAI to report more violent users to the police and expose the public to more of the real-world threats that chatbots could pose. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026 The team suspects the increase in the rate and intensity of earthquakes shows that Earth’s crust did not return to normal after the final test in 2017, but instead seismicity increased as at least two preexisting faults became active, Kim said. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for suspects

Noun

Prosecutors say the defendants used specialized equipment and drones to reach high locations and record their activities.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Such actions are scaring people away from coming to court, whether as witnesses, defendants or observers, Bonta said, and amount to a blatant abuse of power.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of defendants

Verb

Logan Wright, the author of Broken China, guesses that growth is now running at no more than 1% — and may even be zero.

— Andy Browne, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
The system consists of a predictive algorithm that guesses how a robot is broken, along with robotic manipulators that actually take the broken robot apart.

— Kohava Mendelsohn, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of guesses

Verb

Numerous treatise writers began to insist that anyone who doubts the diabolical empowerment of women-as-witches is self-deluded and dangerous.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
After years of cruel dismissal from his grandfather, Kang Seung-woon (Jung Jin-young), and relentless pressure from his mother, Kang Ji-hye (Yoon Se-ah), Pi-o doubts his talent.

— Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of doubts

Noun

Researchers looked at a wide range of possible culprits behind neck pain, including demographic, occupational, lifestyle, postural, technology and psychological factors.

— Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
The two-part November 13, Sonia’s Choice recounts the true story of a woman at the heart of the hunt for the culprits of the Paris terror attacks on November 13, 2015, who is now living in hiding.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of culprits

Verb

This implicit passivity assumes that technology, rather than people, will determine AI’s impact on work.

— Byron Auguste, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
In the novel, likewise, the narrator assumes an almost Homeric guise, comparing current harbor gossip to chatter from the Phoenician, Cretan, Greek, and Roman eras.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of assumes

Verb

But when adolescent Elia Gheorghiu shows up at school with bruises, the community questions the traditional education the Gheorghiu yougsters are getting from their parents.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2026
Whereas Riis uses documentation to expose, Rosler questions conventional representation.

— J. Hoberman, ARTnews.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of questions

Noun

That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

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suspecting

suspects

suspend

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Style

“Suspects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suspects. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of suspects

noun

verb

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