26984 words

suspending

5 definitions • 11 examples
1
present participle of
2
to stop something from being active, either temporarily or permanently:

Examples:

The ferry service has been suspended for the day because of bad weather.
The country's president has suspended the constitution and assumed total power.
When you go to the theatre, you have to be willing to suspend disbelief (= to act as if you believe that what you are seeing is real or true, although you know that it is not).
I'm suspending judgment (= not forming an opinion) on the book I'm reading until I've finished it.
Mr Young was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years (= if he commits another crime within two years, he will have to go to prison for six months for his original crime).
3
If someone is suspended from work, school, etc., they are temporarily not allowed to work, go to school, or take part in an activity because of having done something wrong:

Examples:

She was suspended from school for fighting.
He was suspended for four games after arguing with the referee.
4
to hang:

Examples:

The builders worked on wooden platforms, suspended by ropes from the roof of the building.
It was very uncomfortable lying on the hospital bed with my legs suspended in the air.
5
If small pieces of solid material are suspended in a gas or a liquid, they hang or float in the gas or liquid:

Examples:

The drug is suspended in a saline solution.
A cloud of smoke was suspended in the air.

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