suspend

[ suh-spend ]

verb (used with object)

1. to hang by attachment to something above:

   to suspend a chandelier from the ceiling.

2. to attach so as to allow free movement:

   to suspend a door on a hinge.

3. to keep from falling, sinking, forming a deposit, etc., as if by hanging:

   to suspend solid particles in a liquid.

4. to hold or keep undetermined; refrain from forming or concluding definitely:

   to suspend one's judgment.

5. to defer or postpone:

   to suspend sentence on a convicted person.

6. to cause to cease or bring to a stop or stay, usually for a time:

   to suspend payment.

   Synonyms: discontinue, intermit

7. to cause to cease for a time from operation or effect, as a law, rule, privilege, service, or the like:

   to suspend ferry service.

8. 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.

9. to keep in a mood or feeling of expectation or incompleteness; keep waiting in suspense:

   Finish the story; don't suspend us in midair.

10. Music. to prolong (a note or tone) into the next chord.

verb (used without object)

1. to come to a stop, usually temporarily; cease from operation for a time.
2. to stop payment; be unable to meet financial obligations.
3. to hang or be suspended, as from another object:

   The chandelier suspends from the ceiling.

4. to be suspended, as in a liquid, gas, etc.

suspend

/ səˈspɛnd /

verb

1. tr to hang from above so as to permit free movement
2. tr; passive to cause to remain floating or hanging

   a cloud of smoke was suspended over the town

3. tr to render inoperative or cause to cease, esp temporarily

   to suspend interest payments

4. tr to hold in abeyance; postpone action on

   to suspend a decision

5. tr to debar temporarily from privilege, office, etc, as a punishment
6. tr chem to cause (particles) to be held in suspension in a fluid
7. tr music to continue (a note) until the next chord is sounded, with which it usually forms a dissonance See suspension
8. intr to cease payment, as from incapacity to meet financial obligations
9. obsolete.
   tr to put or keep in a state of anxiety or wonder
10. 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

Origin of suspend¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English suspenden, from Latin suspendere “to hang up,” equivalent to sus- sus- + pendere (transitive) “to hang” ( pend, suspense )

Word History and Origins

Origin of suspend¹

C13: from Latin suspendere from sub- + pendere to hang

Synonym Study

See interrupt.

Related Words

• adjourn
• arrest
• bar
• cease
• defer
• discontinue
• eject
• exclude
• file
• halt
• interrupt
• postpone
• put off
• reject
• rule out
• shelve
• stay
• waive
• withhold