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suspension

noun

Simple meaning

A temporary debarment.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

suhspehnshuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

səsˈpɛnʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A temporary debarment (from a privilege or position etc)

  2. A temporary or conditional delay, interruption or discontinuation.

  3. The act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)

  4. The act of suspending, or the state of being suspended.

  5. The temporary barring of a person from a workplace, society, etc. pending investigation into alleged misconduct.

  6. The act of keeping a person who is listening in doubt and expectation of what is to follow.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A temporary debarment (from a privilege or position etc)

Used this way, suspension is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use suspension

  • “Suspension from school as a disciplinary measure.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Temporary

temporary suspension

Mechanical

suspension bridgesuspension system

Other combinations

suspension culturecell suspensionfront suspensionrear suspensionwilling suspension

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • suspension bridgenounCompound term

    A bridge that has a roadway supported by cables that are anchored at both ends.

  • suspension pointnounCompound term

    One of a series of points indicating that something has been omitted or that the sentence is incomplete.

  • suspension systemnounCompound term

    A mechanical system of springs or shock absorbers connecting the wheels and axles to the chassis of a wheeled vehicle.

  • colloidal suspensionnounCompound term

    A colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: temporary debarment (from a privilege or position etc)

danglinghanging

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.