suspect (noun)

someone who is under suspicion

defendant, suspect (adj)

a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused

fishy, funny, shady, suspect, suspicious (verb)

not as expected

"there was something fishy about the accident"; "up to some funny business"; "some definitely queer goings-on"; "a shady deal"; "her motives were suspect"; "suspicious behavior"

suspect, surmise (verb)

imagine to be the case or true or probable

"I suspect he is a fugitive"; "I surmised that the butler did it"

distrust, mistrust, suspect (verb)

regard as untrustworthy; regard with suspicion; have no faith or confidence in

suspect (verb)

hold in suspicion; believe to be guilty

"The U.S. suspected Bin Laden as the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks"

suspect (Noun)

A person who is suspected of something, in particular of committing a crime.

suspect (Verb)

To imagine or suppose (something) to be true without evidence.

suspect (Verb)

To distrust or have doubts about (something or someone).

suspect (Verb)

To believe (someone) to be guilty.

suspect (Verb)

To have suspicion.

suspect (Adjective)

To be viewed with suspicion.

Suspect

In the law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the perpetrator of the offense. The perpetrator is the robber, assailant, counterfeiter, etc. --the person who actually committed the crime. The distinction between suspect and perpetrator recognizes that the suspect is not known to have committed the offense, while the perpetrator—who may not yet have been suspected of the crime, and is thus not necessarily a suspect—is the one who actually did. The suspect may be a different person from the perpetrator, or there may have been no actual crime, which would mean there is no perpetrator. A common error in police reports is a witness description of the suspect. Frequently it is stated that police are looking for the suspect, when there is no suspect; the police could be looking for a suspect, but they are surely looking for the perpetrator, and very often it is impossible to tell from such a police report whether there is a suspect or not. Possibly because of the misuse of suspect to mean perpetrator, police in the early 21st century began to use person of interest, possible suspect, and even possible person of interest, to mean suspect.

Suspect

In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated US slang). However, in official definition, the perpetrator is the robber, assailant, counterfeiter, etc.—the person who committed the crime. The distinction between suspect and perpetrator recognizes that the suspect is not known to have committed the offense, while the perpetrator—who may not yet have been suspected of the crime, and is thus not necessarily a suspect—is the one who did. The suspect may be a different person from the perpetrator, or there may have been no actual crime, which would mean there is no perpetrator.A common error in police reports is a witness description of the suspect (as a witness generally describes a perpetrator, while a mug shot is of a suspect). Frequently it is stated that police are looking for the suspect, when there is no suspect; the police could be looking for a suspect, but they are surely looking for the perpetrator, and very often it is impossible to tell from such a police report whether there is a suspect or not. Possibly because of the misuse of "suspect" to mean "perpetrator", police in the late 20th and early 21st century began to use person of interest, possible suspect, and even possible person of interest, to mean suspect.Under the judicial systems of the U.S., once a decision is approved to arrest a suspect, or bind him over for trial, either by a prosecutor issuing an information, a grand jury issuing a true bill or indictment, or a judge issuing an arrest warrant, the suspect can then be properly called a defendant, or the accused. Only after being convicted is the suspect properly called the perpetrator.