suspense
noun
- feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /səˈspɛns/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English suspense, suspence, from Anglo-Norman suspens (as in en suspens) and Old French suspens, from Latin suspēnsus.
- Held or lifted up; held or prevented from proceeding.
“[The great light of day] suspens in heav'n.”
- Expressing, or proceeding from, suspense or doubt.
“Expectation held his look suspense.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English suspense, suspence, from Anglo-Norman suspens (as in en suspens) and Old French suspens, from Latin suspēnsus.
- The condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.
“For thee the Fates, severely kind, ordain / A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; / Thy life a long dead calm of fix'd repose; / No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows.”
- The pleasurable emotion of anticipation and excitement regarding the outcome or climax of a book, film etc.
- The unpleasant emotion of anxiety or apprehension in an uncertain situation.
“Ten days the prophet in suspense remain'd.”
“I believe that, to the young, suspense is the most intolerable suffering. Active misery always brings with it its own power of endurance.”
- A temporary cessation of one's right; suspension, as when the rent or other profits of land cease by unity of possession of land and rent.
- A deadline.
“She sent us that assignment with a suspense of noon tomorrow.”