Synonyms for suspense
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Uncertainty
uncertainty, apprehension, anxiety, doubt, indecision, misgiving, hesitation, vacillation, hesitancy, solicitude, irresolution, incertitude, indetermination
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
The condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.
Related words
- Word family
- suspenseful suspensive
- Phrases
- in suspense
Forms
- Plural
- suspenses → uncertainties, apprehensions, anxieties, doubts…
Choose the right word
Suspense regards the future, and is eager and anxious; uncertainty may relate to any period, and be quite indifferent.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- uncertainty All forecasts have a certain degree of uncertainty.
- apprehension He detected in her voice a note of apprehension.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| suspense | steady | |
| uncertainty | rising | |
| apprehension | steady | |
| irresolution | steady | |
| incertitude | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- doubt1
- 7 letters
- waiting2, anxiety4
- 8 letters
- abeyance3
- 9 letters
- hesitancy4, misgiving3
- 10 letters
- suspension3, hesitation4, indecision4, solicitude4
- 11 letters
- uncertainty4, expectation4, vacillation4, incertitude
- 12 letters
- apprehension4, irresolution
- 15 letters
- indetermination
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (waiting2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- suspense