Suspecters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who are regarded as potentially guilty or culpable in a situation or crime
2. Individuals who are thought to be involved in wrongdoing or deceit through suspicion
3. People who evoke doubt or mistrust due to their actions or demeanor, often linked to potentially illicit behavior

Etymology: "Suspecters" is simply the plural of "suspecter", a noun for someone who suspects. Its meaning here, "those thought guilty", is a usage of the same noun applied to people who are the object of suspicion rather than those who harbour it. The word is built from "suspect" plus the agent suffix "-er", which turns a verb into a noun for the person doing the action. Because "suspect" can be both a verb (to suspect someone) and a noun or adjective (a suspect, a suspect character), the derived forms sometimes pull in two directions, and "suspecter" is one of the less common results of that tangle.

Synonyms: doubters, skeptics, questioners, mistrusters

Antonyms: believers, trusters