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suspend
[ suh-spend ]
verb (used with object)
- to hang by attachment to something above:
to suspend a chandelier from the ceiling.
- to attach so as to allow free movement:
to suspend a door on a hinge.
- to keep from falling, sinking, forming a deposit, etc., as if by hanging:
to suspend solid particles in a liquid.
- to hold or keep undetermined; refrain from forming or concluding definitely:
to suspend one's judgment.
- to defer or postpone:
to suspend sentence on a convicted person.
- to cause to cease or bring to a stop or stay, usually for a time:
to suspend payment.
Synonyms: discontinue, intermit
- to cause to cease for a time from operation or effect, as a law, rule, privilege, service, or the like:
to suspend ferry service.
- to debar, usually for a limited time, from the exercise of an office or function or the enjoyment of a privilege:
The student was suspended from school.
- to keep in a mood or feeling of expectation or incompleteness; keep waiting in suspense:
Finish the story; don't suspend us in midair.
- Music. to prolong (a note or tone) into the next chord.
verb (used without object)
- to come to a stop, usually temporarily; cease from operation for a time.
- to stop payment; be unable to meet financial obligations.
- to hang or be suspended, as from another object:
The chandelier suspends from the ceiling.
- to be suspended, as in a liquid, gas, etc.
suspend
/ səˈspɛnd /
verb
- tr to hang from above so as to permit free movement
- tr; passive to cause to remain floating or hanging
a cloud of smoke was suspended over the town
- tr to render inoperative or cause to cease, esp temporarily
to suspend interest payments
- tr to hold in abeyance; postpone action on
to suspend a decision
- tr to debar temporarily from privilege, office, etc, as a punishment
- tr chem to cause (particles) to be held in suspension in a fluid
- tr music to continue (a note) until the next chord is sounded, with which it usually forms a dissonance See suspension
- intr to cease payment, as from incapacity to meet financial obligations
- obsolete.tr to put or keep in a state of anxiety or wonder
- obsolete.intr to be attached from above
Derived Forms
- susˌpendiˈbility, noun
- susˈpendible, adjective
Other Words From
- sus·pend·i·ble adjective
- sus·pend·i·bil·i·ty [s, uh, -spen-d, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
- pre·sus·pend verb (used with object)
- re·sus·pend verb
- un·sus·pend·i·ble adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of suspend1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Some have urged the government to be more radical on Help to Buy with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham calling for it to be "suspended" while others have called for it to be scrapped entirely.
That figure was what provoked Boasberg to suspend the Arkansas program and block a similar effort in Kentucky before it could even start.
Doing so, it said, “would allow us to suspend our investigation and work towards voluntary resolution of this matter.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said Hamas’s office no longer had a function because Qatar had suspended its mediation efforts on a Gaza ceasefire deal, although he stressed that it was not permanently closed.
He also faces a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail if he violates the terms of the deal and is barred from owning a firearm for the rest of his life.
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Related Words
More About Suspend
What does suspend mean?
Suspend most commonly means to cause to stop, to bring to a stop, to withhold, or to postpone, as in The bank has suspended payments or All activities have been suspended until further notice.
It also commonly means to hang something by attaching it to something else, especially with ropes or cables, as in We need to suspend the banner from the ceiling.
More specifically, suspend can mean to officially punish someone, such as an employee, student, or athlete, so that they are not allowed to participate in an activity for a certain period of time, as in He was suspended for five games for fighting. A person punished in this way is said to be suspended.
The noun form suspension can be used for most senses of suspend to refer to an instance or the process of suspending.
Where does suspend come from?
The first records of the word suspend in English come from the 1200s. It comes from the Latin verb suspendere, meaning “to hang up.”
Most meanings of suspend can be divided into those that are based on the literal meaning of hang up—“to hang something by attaching it to something else”—or those that are based on the more idiomatic meaning of hang up—“to delay or postpone.”
When some activity is suspended, it is stopped altogether, usually in an official way, but often temporarily. Government agencies might suspend air travel for safety reasons or the management of a struggling company might suspend hiring.
When a person is suspended as punishment, the suspension often results from a serious violation of the rules, such as a student who cheats on a test or a professional athlete who tests positive for having used banned substances. Such suspensions are often for a set amount of time or, in the case of pro athletes, a certain number of games. The word is used in the same way in the context of a social media or other online account that has been suspended, such as for a rules violation.
To suspend your disbelief is postpone or ignore the skepticism you have about unrealistic parts of a story in order to enjoy it. (If you can believe it, the term suspension of disbelief was coined by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817.)
We’re glad you’ve hung around to hear the senses of suspend that involve hanging something from something else. A bridge whose deck (the surface on which people walk or drive) is suspended from cables is called a suspension bridge.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to suspend?
- suspended (past tense verb, adjective)
- suspension (noun)
- suspendible (adjective)
- suspensible (adjective)
What are some synonyms for suspend?
What are some words that share a root or word element with suspend?
What are some words that often get used in discussing suspend?
How is suspend used in real life?
Suspend is a very common word that’s used in many different contexts. Most of the time it involves temporarily stopping something or hanging something.
Ok twitter started suspending accounts for stealing tweets but next they should suspend any account that tweets “RT for good luck”
— Really Nice Guy (@yaneezy__) April 2, 2018
Chevron asked to suspend activity in Brazil | http://t.co/iGvxTJlq $CVX
— Bloomberg (@business) December 14, 2011
I always forget I got suspended for 3 days in high school for leaving campus to get a Wendy’s 4 for 4
— Britt (@brittmc3) December 9, 2018
Try using suspend!
Which of the following words is an antonym (opposite) of suspend when it means “to stop”?
A. freeze
B. postpone
C. continue
D. halt
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