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

What consumers can do is consider an identity theft protection service, which scours social media, the Internet and the dark web for your personal information and alerts you about any suspicious activity. —Ryley Amond, CNBC, 18 Apr. 2025

This kind of reverse inference is the same logic your bank uses when flagging suspicious activity. —Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

But he’s also been deeply suspicious for years of the government’s intelligence agencies. —Josh Funk and Haya Panjwani, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025

So when head vampire Remmick (Jack O'Connell) and his two recent white recruits originally show up, Smoke and Stack are suspicious enough of their motives to turn them away. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for suspicious

• adventitious
• cementitious
• expeditious
• inauspicious
• injudicious
• meretricious
• repetitious
• superstitious
• surreptitious
• unambitious
• unpropitious
• unsuspicious

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