What does "suspend" mean?
Suspend: To make to depend; as, God hath suspended the promise of eternal life on the condition of obedience and holiness of life. [Archaic] Tillotson.
Additional senses
- 2.To cause to cease for a time; to hinder from proceeding; to interrupt; to delay; to stay. Suspend your indignation against my brother. Shak. The guard nor fights nor fies; their fate so near At once suspends their courage and their fear. Denham.
- 3.To hold in an undetermined or undecided state; as, to suspend one's judgment or opinion. Locke.
- 4.To debar, or cause to withdraw temporarily, from any privilege, from the execution of an office, from the enjoyment of income, etc.; as, to suspend a student from college; to suspend a member of a club. Good men should not be suspended from the exercise of their ministry and deprived of their livelihood for ceremonies which are on all hands acknowledged indifferent. Bp. Sanderson.
- 5.To cause to cease for a time from operation or effect; as, to suspend the habeas corpus act; to suspend the rules of a legislative body.
- 6.(Chem.) To support in a liquid, as an insoluble powder, by stirring, to facilitate chemical action. To suspend payment (Com.), to cease paying debts or obligations; to fail; -- said of a merchant, a bank, etc.
- 7.To cease from operation or activity; esp., to stop payment, or be unable to meet obligations or engagements (said of a commercial firm or a bank).
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00