suggestion
Americannoun
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the act of suggesting.
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the state of being suggested.
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something suggested, as a piece of advice.
We made the suggestion that she resign.
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a slight trace.
He speaks with a suggestion of a foreign accent.
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the calling up in the mind of one idea by another by virtue of some association or of some natural connection between the ideas.
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the idea thus called up.
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Psychology.
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the process of inducing a thought, sensation, or action in a receptive person without using persuasion and without giving rise to reflection in the recipient.
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the thought, sensation, or action induced in this way.
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noun
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something that is suggested
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a hint or indication
a suggestion of the odour of violets
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psychol the process whereby the mere presentation of an idea to a receptive individual leads to the acceptance of that idea See also autosuggestion
Usage
What does suggestion mean?
A suggestion is a proposal, piece of advice, or idea for consideration.
Suggestion is the noun form the verb suggest. Suggestion is often used with the verbs offer and make, as in the common question, Can I make a suggestion?
In psychology, suggestion has a more specific meaning: the process in which the mere presentation of an idea to a receptive person leads to the acceptance of that idea.
Example: After explaining his new business plan, Tom told his colleagues that he was open to suggestions and other feedback.
Related Words
See advice.
Other Word Forms
- countersuggestion noun
- nonsuggestion noun
- presuggestion noun
- self-suggestion noun
Etymology
Origin of suggestion
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English suggestio(u)n “incitement to evil,” from Medieval Latin suggestiōn-, stem of suggestiō, Latin: “addition, hint”; equivalent to suggest + -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If there is a need for more oil, the agency will intervene and make a suggestion to governments, he said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
That’s what Auf der Maur’s roommate told her the night she came home after thinking that she had offered a sincere but thoughtful declination to the suggestion that she become the bass player in Hole.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
McGowan never responded to that text message, but Vaquero said he brought up the suggestion of a preparedness alert when McGowan returned to the emergency operations center about an hour later.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
Mark Higgins, an investment adviser at Irvine, Calif.-based IFA Institutional and author of “Investing in U.S. Financial History,” a book that chronicles markets from 1790 to the present, has a suggestion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
All three Incorrigibles perked up slightly at the suggestion, but they were still too grumpy to reply.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
