Standard Lemma guide

suggestion

noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/
  • Received-Pronunciation: [səˈd͡ʒɛʃ.t͡ʃən]
  • Canada, General-American: /sə(ɡ)ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃən/
  • California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Texas: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /səˈd͡ʒes.t͡ʃən/
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH0 JH EH1 S CH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Something suggested (with subsequent adposition being for)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • make a suggestion
  • I have a small suggestion for fixing this: try lifting the left side up a bit.
  • Traffic signs seem to be more of a suggestion than an order.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The act of suggesting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Suggestion often works better than explicit demand.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Something implied, which the mind is liable to take as fact.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: human-sciences, psychology, sciences

Examples

  • He’s somehow picked up the suggestion that I like peanuts.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The act of exercising control over a hypnotised subject by communicating some belief or impulse by means of words or gestures; the idea so suggested.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Information, insinuation, speculation, as opposed to a sworn testimony and evidence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the act of inducing hypnosis

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hypnotism, mesmerism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: influence

7

noun

Meaning 7

the sequential mental process in which one thought leads to another by association

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: higher cognitive process

8

noun

Meaning 8

an idea that is suggested

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the picnic was her suggestion

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: idea, thought

Narrower terms: inkling, intimation, glimmering, glimmer, posthypnotic suggestion

9

noun

Meaning 9

a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • it was a suggestion we couldn't refuse

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: proposition, proffer

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: proposal

Narrower terms: hint, intimation, breath, touch, trace, ghost, overture, advance, approach, feeler

10

noun

Meaning 10

persuasion formulated as a suggestion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prompting

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: persuasion, suasion

11

noun

Meaning 11

a just detectable amount

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he speaks French with a trace of an accent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: trace, hint

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: small indefinite quantity, small indefinite amount

Narrower terms: spark

History

Etymology

From Middle English suggestion, from Anglo-Norman suggestioun, sugestiun, from Latin suggestiō, from suggerō (“suggest”, verb), from Latin sub- (“from below, up”) + gerō (“to bring”). Equivalent to suggest + -ion. Related to English up-, cast.

Across languages

Translations

113 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: sugjerim — something suggested
  • Albanian: propozim — something suggested
  • Arabic: اِقْتِرَاح (iqtirāḥ) — something suggested
  • Arabic: مُقْتَرَح (muqtaraḥ) — something suggested
  • Armenian: առաջարկություն (aṙaǰarkutʻyun) — something suggested
  • Azerbaijani: təklif — something suggested
  • Basque: iradokizun — something suggested
  • Belarusian: прапано́ва (prapanóva) — something suggested
  • Bulgarian: предложе́ние (predložénie) — something suggested
  • Burmese: အကြံပေးချက် (a.krampe:hkyak) — something suggested
  • Catalan: suggeriment — something suggested
  • Chinese Mandarin: 建議 /建议 (jiànyì) — something suggested
  • Chinese Mandarin: 提議 /提议 (tíyì) — something suggested
  • Chinese Mandarin: 提案 (tí'àn) — something suggested
  • Czech: návrh — something suggested
  • Danish: forslag — something suggested
  • Dutch: voorstel — something suggested
  • Esperanto: sugesto — something suggested
  • Estonian: ettepanek — something suggested
  • Finnish: ehdotus — something suggested
  • Finnish: aloite — something suggested
  • French: suggestion — something suggested
  • French: proposition — something suggested
  • Galician: suxestión — something suggested
  • Georgian: წინადადება (c̣inadadeba) — something suggested
  • German: Vorschlag — something suggested
  • Greek: πρόταση (prótasi) — something suggested
  • Hebrew: הַצָּעָה (hatsa'á) — something suggested
  • Hindi: सुझाव (sujhāv) — something suggested
  • Hindi: प्रस्ताव (prastāv) — something suggested
  • Hungarian: javaslat — something suggested
  • Hungarian: tanács — something suggested
  • Hungarian: ajánlat — something suggested
  • Italian: suggestione — something suggested
  • Italian: suggerimento — something suggested
  • Italian: proposta — something suggested
  • Japanese: 提案 (teian) — something suggested
  • Kazakh: ұсыныс (ūsynys) — something suggested
  • Khmer: ការឲ្យយោបល់ (kaa ʼaoy yoobɑl) — something suggested
  • Khmer: យោបល់ (yoobɑl) — something suggested
  • Korean: 제안 (jean) — something suggested
  • Northern Kurdish: pêşniyar — something suggested
  • Northern Kurdish: pêşniyaz — something suggested
  • Northern Kurdish: teklîf — something suggested
  • Kyrgyz: сунуш (sunuş) — something suggested
  • Lao: ຂໍ້ສະເຫນີ (khǭ sa nœ̄) — something suggested
  • Latin: suggestiō — something suggested
  • Macedonian: предлог (predlog) — something suggested
  • Malay: cadangan — something suggested
  • Malayalam: നിർദ്ദേശം (niṟddēśaṁ) — something suggested
  • Mongolian: төлөвлөгөө (tölövlögöö) — something suggested
  • Mongolian: ᠲᠥᠯᠦᠪᠯᠡᠭᠡ (tölüblege) — something suggested
  • Norwegian Bokmål: forslag — something suggested
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: forslag — something suggested
  • Iranian Persian: پیشْنِهاد (pišnehâd) — something suggested
  • Plautdietsch: Väaschlach — something suggested
  • Polish: propozycja — something suggested
  • Polish: sugestia — something suggested
  • Portuguese: sugestão — something suggested
  • Portuguese: proposta — something suggested
  • Romanian: sugestionare — something suggested
  • Romanian: sugestie — something suggested
  • Romanian: propunere — something suggested
  • Russian: предложе́ние (predložénije) — something suggested
  • Northern Sami: evttohus — something suggested
  • Serbo-Croatian: пре́длог — something suggested
  • Serbo-Croatian: прије́длог — something suggested
  • Serbo-Croatian: prédlog — something suggested
  • Serbo-Croatian: prijédlog — something suggested
  • Slovak: návrh — something suggested
  • Slovene: predlog — something suggested
  • Spanish: sugerencia — something suggested
  • Spanish: propuesta — something suggested
  • Swedish: förslag — something suggested
  • Tagalog: mungkahi — something suggested
  • Tajik: пешниҳод (pešnihod) — something suggested
  • Tajik: таклиф (taklif) — something suggested
  • Thai: ข้อเสนอ (kɔ̂ɔ-sà-nə̌ə) — something suggested
  • Thai: ข้อเสนอแนะ (kɔ̂ɔ-sà-nə̌ə-nɛ́) — something suggested
  • Turkish: öneri — something suggested
  • Turkish: teklif — something suggested
  • Turkmen: teklip — something suggested
  • Ukrainian: пропози́ція (propozýcija) — something suggested
  • Urdu: سِفارِش (sifāriś) — something suggested
  • Urdu: تَجْوِیز (tajvīz) — something suggested
  • Uyghur: تەكلىپ (teklip) — something suggested
  • Uzbek: taklif — something suggested
  • Uzbek: taqdim — something suggested
  • Vietnamese: sự gợi ý — something suggested
  • Yiddish: פֿאָרשלאָג (forshlog) — something suggested
  • Bulgarian: предложе́ние (predložénie) — act of suggestion
  • Bulgarian: предлагане (predlagane) — act of suggestion
  • Catalan: suggestió — act of suggestion
  • Catalan: suggeriment — act of suggestion
  • Czech: návrh — act of suggestion
  • Finnish: ehdottaminen — act of suggestion
  • Hungarian: javaslat — act of suggestion
  • Italian: suggerimento — act of suggestion
  • Polish: sugestia — act of suggestion
  • Portuguese: sugestão — act of suggestion
  • Romanian: sugestionare — act of suggestion
  • Romanian: sugestie — act of suggestion
  • Northern Sami: evttoheapmi — act of suggestion
  • Spanish: sugestión — act of suggestion
  • Catalan: suggestió — psychology: something implied
  • Finnish: käsitys — psychology: something implied
  • Finnish: mielikuva — psychology: something implied
  • German: Suggestion — psychology: something implied
  • Portuguese: sugestão — psychology: something implied
  • Spanish: sugestión — psychology: something implied
  • Bulgarian: внушение (vnušenie) — the act of exercising control over a hypnotised subject by communicating some belief or impulse by means of words or gestures; the idea so suggested
  • Finnish: suggestio — the act of exercising control over a hypnotised subject by communicating some belief or impulse by means of words or gestures; the idea so suggested
  • Hungarian: szuggesztió — the act of exercising control over a hypnotised subject by communicating some belief or impulse by means of words or gestures; the idea so suggested
Real reading context

suggestion in complete knowledge articles