Etymology

Coined based on LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#SUGGEST suggestusCategory:English undefined derivations#SUGGEST, perfect passive participle of suggerō (“bring up, bring under, lay beneath, furnish, supply, excite, advise, suggest”, verb), from sub (“from below, under”) + gerō (“bear, carry”, verb).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səˈd͡ʒɛst/Category:English 2-syllable words#SUGGESTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SUGGEST
• (General American) IPA^(key): /sə(ɡ)ˈd͡ʒɛst/Category:English 2-syllable words#SUGGESTCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SUGGEST

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#SUGGEST
• Rhymes: -ɛstCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛst#SUGGESTCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛst/2 syllables#SUGGEST

Verb

suggest (third-person singular simple present suggests, present participle suggesting, simple past and past participle suggested)Category:English lemmas#SUGGESTCategory:English verbs#SUGGESTCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#SUGGESTCategory:Pages with entries#SUGGESTCategory:Pages with 1 entry#SUGGEST

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#SUGGEST) To imply but stop short of explicitly stating (something).

   Synonym: point

   Are you suggesting that I killed my wife?Category:English terms with usage examples#SUGGEST

2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#SUGGEST) To cause one to suppose (something); to bring to one's mind the idea (of something).

   The name "hamburger" suggests that hamburgers originated from Hamburg.Category:English terms with usage examples#SUGGEST

   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:
     , Book II, Chapter III

     Some ideas […] are suggested to the mind by all the ways of sensation and reflection.

   • 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUGGEST

   • 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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUGGEST

3. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#SUGGEST) To explicitly mention (something) as a possibility for consideration, often to recommend it.

   Synonyms: venture, hazard

   This meeting venue was suggested to us by our boss.Category:English terms with usage examples#SUGGEST

   He suggests that we celebrate with dinner at Bellissimo. He suggests our celebrating with dinner at Bellissimo.Category:English terms with usage examples#SUGGEST

   The guidebook suggested that we visit the local cathedral, so that's what we did.Category:English terms with usage examples#SUGGEST

   • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUGGEST

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUGGEST

4. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#SUGGEST, transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#SUGGEST) To seduce; to prompt to evil; to tempt.
   • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested.

     Category:English terms with quotations#SUGGEST

See also

• Suggestion on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• “suggest”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “suggest”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “suggest”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.