suspension
/səˈspɛnʃən/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.24 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The state of a solid or substance produced when its particles are mixed with, but not dissolved in, a fluid, and are capable of separation by straining.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The act of keeping a person who is listening in doubt and expectation of what is to follow.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The temporary barring of a person from a workplace, society, etc. pending investigation into alleged misconduct.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The process of barring a student from school grounds as a form of punishment (particularly out-of-school suspension).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "suspension from a hook"
- "Fear of dioxin emissions led to suspension of efforts to establish a waste-to-energy plant at the Brooklyn Navy yard."
- "As the solids clump together, they get heavier causing them to fall out of suspension in the water."
- "suspension from school as a disciplinary measure"
- "[…] Donna Thomas, John Tiedeman, David Jones, and Richard Williams, all students in the Granville Junior-Senior High School, conceived a plan in November 1978 to produce a satirical publication addressed to the school community. […] [Assistant Principal Frederick] Reed summoned Tiedeman and discussed with him the “dangers” of publishing material that might offend or hurt others. Specifically, he told Tiedeman that a similar publication several years before had culminated in the suspension of the students involved."
- "As in Sequenza IV, the suspension of the chord creates several different layers of activity, which can be understood by looking at the right hand’s chord in bar two."
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin suspensiōnem (“arching, vaulting; suspension”), from suspendēre (“to hang up, to suspend”), from sub- (“under”) + pendere (“to hang, to suspend”), from Proto-Italic *pendō (“to hang, to put in a hanging position”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénd-e-ti, from *(s)pend- (“to pull; to spin”)). Compare Anglo-Norman suspensiun, French suspension, Occitan suspensio.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *pendō, *(s)péndeti
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /səˈspɛnʃən/
- British English: /səˈspɛnʃən/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
4-3 suspension
7-6 suspension
9-8 suspension
air suspension
in-school suspension
out-of-school suspension
pleas in suspension
points of suspension