suggest

English

Etymology

Coined based on Latin suggestus, perfect passive participle of suggerō (“I carry or bring under, furnish, supply, excite, advise, suggest”), from sub (“under”) + gerō (“I bear, carry”).

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /səˈdʒɛst/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /səɡˈdʒɛst/, /səˈdʒɛst/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

Verb

suggest (third-person singular simple present suggests, present participle suggesting, simple past and past participle suggested)

  1. (transitive) To imply but stop short of saying explicitly.
    • John Locke
      Some ideas […] are suggested to the mind by all the ways of sensation and reflection.
    • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:
      She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.
    Are you suggesting that I killed my wife?
  2. To make one suppose; cause one to suppose (something).
    • 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:
      In the abstract, Stuhlbarg’s twinkly-eyed sidekick suggests Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2 by way of late-period Robin Williams with an alien twist, but Stuhlbarg makes a character that easily could have come across as precious into a surprisingly palatable, even charming man.
    • 2013 August 16, Sarah Boseley, “Children shun vegetables and fruit”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 15:
      The [British Heart Foundation's] data […] suggests there has been little improvement in eating, drinking and exercise habits in spite of the concern about obesity and the launch of the government's child measurement programme, which warns parents if their children are overweight. About a third of under-16s across the UK are either overweight or obese.
    The name "hamburger" suggests that hamburgers originated from Hamburg.
  3. (transitive) To mention something as an idea, typically in order to recommend it
    I’d like to suggest that we go out to lunch.   I’d like to suggest going out to lunch.
    The guidebook suggests that we visit the local cathedral, which is apparently beautiful.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To seduce; to prompt to evil; to tempt.

Usage notes
  • (ask for without demanding) This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (the form ending in -ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

Further reading
  • suggest in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • suggest in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
  • suggest at OneLook Dictionary Search
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