suspicious

adjective

sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspi-shəs 

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

• debatable
• disputable
• dodgy [chiefly British]
• doubtable
• doubtful
• dubious
• dubitable
• equivocal
• fishy
• problematic
• problematical
• queer
• questionable
• shady
• shaky
• suspect

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

Generative models learn typical user behavior patterns, finding deviations that indicate suspicious activity. —Vishwanadham Mandala, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025

The Scam Alert feature watches the links in incoming text messages and flags any suspicious ones. —PCMAG, 14 Jan. 2025

In late June 2024, the Natomas Unified School District IT department shut down the district’s network system, wifi network, VPN services and phone lines after identifying suspicious activity on the network. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacramento Bee, 14 Jan. 2025

Later, following the arrival of a suspicious new co-worker (Stephane Rideau), Franck nearly plunges to his death in what’s clearly workplace sabotage. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

suspicious

adjective

sus·​pi·​cious sə-ˈspish-əs 

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