suspect
Have misgivings about
Suspect covers both doubt and the object of doubt.
To suspect someone is to believe they may be guilty of something: Police suspect the husband.
To suspect a fact is to think it likely: I suspect she's lying.
A suspect is a person under suspicion.
As an adjective, suspect means questionable or unreliable: His motives are suspect.
The adjective stresses the second syllable; the noun stresses the first.
Of uncertain validity
- dubiousOf uncertain reliability
- fishyArousing doubt, colloquially
- shadyDisreputable or sun-blocked
- sketchyIncomplete or suspicious
iffy · dodgy · unreliable · untrustworthy · peculiar · odd · strange · off
One who commits wrongdoing
- culpritPerson found guilty
- offenderOne who breaks rules
- defendantParty facing charges
- detaineePerson held in custody
felon · convict · fugitive · accomplice · person of interest · apprehended · arrested · in custody
Professional crime investigator
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- interrogateQuestion formally and persistently
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
witness · testimony · alibi · motive · forensics · questioning · crime scene · fingerprint
Accept as true tentatively
- guessEstimate without certainty
- imagineForm mental pictures
- assumeAccept as true
- presumeAccept without verification
believe · reckon · gather · think · speculate · conjecture · infer · fancy
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
- noirHard-boiled film genre
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
- intrigueSecret plotting or fascination
red herring · plot twist · culprit · detective story · suspense · crime fiction · Agatha Christie · alibi
questionable
Of uncertain validity
sketchy · iffy · dodgy · unreliable · untrustworthy · peculiar · odd · strange · off · not quite right
perpetrator
One who commits wrongdoing
detainee · felon · convict · fugitive · accomplice · person of interest · apprehended · arrested · in custody · alleged
detective
Professional crime investigator
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- interrogateQuestion formally and persistently
surveillance · witness · testimony · alibi · motive · forensics · questioning · crime scene · fingerprint · sleuth
suppose
Accept as true tentatively
presume · believe · reckon · gather · think · speculate · conjecture · infer · fancy · figure
whodunit
Crime fiction identifying perpetrator
intrigue · red herring · plot twist · culprit · detective story · suspense · crime fiction · Agatha Christie · alibi · revelation
mistrust
Lack of faith
leery · wary · guarded · apprehensive · uneasy · cynical · distrustful · paranoid · cautious · hesitant
- crime investigationdetective, whodunit, investigation, detectives, investigator
- Criminal Investigationdetective, crime scene, crime investigation, forensics, investigator
- FBIFBI, agent, special agent, bureau, FBI Academy
- mysteryclue, detective, clues, sleuth, whodunit
- policingpatrol, police powers, arrests, police officer, arrest
- true crimetrue crime, cold case, crime docs, unsolved mystery, murder mystery
suspectinnocent
Free from moral wrong
cleared · exonerated · victim · vindicated · witness
suspecttrust
Confidence in another
trusted · trustworthy · reliable · dependable · credible
- usual suspectsThose always initially suspected
- prime suspectMost probable perpetrator
- highly suspect
- suspect lineupArray for witness identification
- The Usual SuspectsPredictable wrongdoers police question
- suspect listCandidates for blame