sus- means beneath.Mo2men wrote:Dear Mitch,
If I say the following:
I suspect that you will succeed in the math exam. what does it imply?
Is it " I think you are going to succeed in the math exam?
or
Is it " I have a doubt that you will pass math exam?
Does not 'suspect' mean 'doubt' in other contexts? Can you give example please.
Thanks in advance
-pect means look.
to suspect = to LOOK BENEATH something and render a BELIEF about it.
John suspects that the race will be difficult.
Conveyed meaning:
Having "looked beneath" the race, John BELIEVES that it will be difficult.
TO SUSPECT + THAT-CLAUSE implies that the that-clause is likely to be true.
In this case, John believes the following:
It is likely true that the race will be difficult.
I suspect that you will succeed.
Conveyed meaning:
Having "looked beneath" you, I BELIEVE the following:
It is likely true that you will succeed.
Other usages of suspect:
John is a suspect in the fraud investigation.
Here, suspect is a NOUN.
Conveyed meaning:
Having "looked beneath" John, investigators BELIEVE that John is guilty of fraud.
As a noun, suspect = something guilty of a bad act.
The labor statistics are suspect.
Here, suspect is an ADJECTIVE describing the labor statistics.
Conveyed meaning:
Having "looked beneath" the statistics, the author believes that they are not to be trusted.
As an adjective, suspect = not to be trusted.
Mary suspects John's motives.
Conveyed meaning:
Having "looked beneath" John's motives, Mary believes that they are not to be trusted.
TO SUSPECT + NOUN implies that the noun is not to be trusted.
