Unsuspecting

How to spell unsuspecting

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce unsuspecting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unsuspecting mean?

1. adjectiveHaving no awareness that something harmful, dishonest, or surprising is about to happen.

Unsuspecting in a sentence

• The scam targeted unsuspecting customers with fake invoices.

• An unsuspecting commuter dropped his wallet without noticing the pickpocket.

Where does unsuspecting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the verb 'suspect', which English took from the Latin suspicere, literally 'to look up at' or 'to look at secretly', formed from sub 'under' or 'from below' and specere 'to look'. The same specere root, meaning 'to look', sits inside a whole family of English words including 'inspect', 'spectacle' and 'spectator', all of which are about looking. By the late 1500s English had attached the negative prefix 'un-' and the adjective ending '-ing' to produce 'unsuspecting', describing someone who does not look closely enough to notice a hidden danger or deception. The spelling stays regular once you see the three pieces: the prefix un-, the borrowed stem suspect with its single p and the c before t, and the ending -ing. The main trap is simply hearing the unstressed middle and forgetting the c in suspect.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• suspect (from Latin suspicere: to look up at, mistrust)
• -ing (adjective ending)