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Definition of suspicious adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

suspicious

adjective
 
/səˈspɪʃəs/
 
/səˈspɪʃəs/
Word Family
  • suspect verb noun adjective
  • suspected adjective
  • suspicion noun
  • suspicious adjective
  • suspiciously adverb
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  1. suspicious (of/about somebody/something) feeling that somebody has done something wrong, illegal or dishonest, without having any proof
    • They became suspicious of his behaviour and contacted the police.
    • a suspicious look
    • You have a very suspicious mind (= you always think that people are behaving in an illegal or dishonest way).
    Extra Examples
    • His voice grew faintly suspicious.
    • I think they're starting to get suspicious.
    • Something about her smile made him suspicious.
    • They were somewhat suspicious about her past.
    • She cast a suspicious glance at him.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    • of
    phrases
    • be right to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    • have reason to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    • have a right to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    See full entry
  2. making you feel that something is wrong, illegal or dishonest
    • Didn't you notice anything suspicious in his behaviour?
    • She died in suspicious circumstances.
    • Police are not treating the fire as suspicious.
    • It might look suspicious if we arrived together.
    • It was all very suspicious.
    Extra Examples
    • He was seen acting in a highly suspicious manner.
    • I find it very suspicious that he left halfway through the morning.
    • Inform the police immediately if you see anything suspicious.
    • We have to carry on as usual or it would look suspicious.
    Topics Personal qualitiesc1, Crime and punishmentc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • look
    • seem
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    phrases
    • hear anything suspicious
    • see anything suspicious
    See full entry
  3. suspicious (of somebody/something) not willing or able to trust somebody/something synonym sceptical
    • I was suspicious of his motives.
    • Many were suspicious of reform.
    see also suspect
    Extra Examples
    • British voters are rightly suspicious of attempts to save money in the area of education.
    • Parents have every right to be suspicious of what the experts tell them.
    • She remained deeply suspicious of computers.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    • of
    phrases
    • be right to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    • have reason to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    • have a right to be suspicious (of somebody/​something)
    See full entry
  4. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French suspicious, from Latin suspiciosus, from suspicio(n-) ‘suspicion’.
See suspicious in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee suspicious in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
hat-trick
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Sports
C2
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