Suspectingly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that suggests a lack of trust regarding someone's motives or honesty
2. In a way that conveys suspicion about the reliability of a person's claims or actions
3. In a way that shows doubt about someone's intentions or truthfulness

Etymology: "Suspectingly" is simply "suspecting" with the adverbial ending "-ly" attached, so its story is one of straightforward word-building rather than a dramatic shift. The adverb follows the same pattern as countless other English manner adverbs, where "-ly" turns an adjective or participle into a word describing how something is done. Here the participle "suspecting" supplies the base, and the result describes acting in a way that reflects suspicion. The base itself comes from "suspect," which English took from Latin "suspectus," the past participle of "suspicere," meaning "to look up at" or "to mistrust." The Latin verb combined "sub-," "under," with "specere," "to look," so the underlying image is of looking from below, with a sideways or wary glance. The modern sense of mistrust carries that wariness forward.

Synonyms: distrustfully, doubtfully, skeptically, cynically, warily

Antonyms: trustfully, believingly, naively, innocently, openly