suspension
/səˈspɛnʃ(ə)n
/noun
1 [mass noun] The action of suspending someone or something or the condition of being suspended: the suspension of military action the investigation led to the suspension of several officers...
- The Embassy bombing touched off storms of protests from China and led to suspension of almost all military contacts and planned visits.
- There are many other risks of business interruption and suspension that cannot be transferred to an insurance company.
- The formal suspension of the action led to the resumption of talks with the government in a further attempt to impose a settlement in the 15-month dispute.
Synonyms
adjournment, interruption, postponement, delay, deferral, deferment, shelving, stay, moratorium, arrest, intermission, interlude, prorogation, tabling, abeyance;
rescheduling;
hiatus, lacuna, lull, rest, break, pause, respite;
armistice;
cessation, end, halt, stoppage, cutting short, dissolution, disbandment, termination
exclusion, debarment, removal, temporary removal, elimination, rejection, expulsion, ejection, eviction, rustication
2 [mass noun] The system of springs and shock absorbers by which a vehicle is supported on its wheels: modifications have been made to the car’s rear suspension...
- The running gear features torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers at one, two and six road wheel stations and tracks with rubber-metallic pin hinges.
- The Frontier features a rind leaf spring rear suspension and like the Xterra has the power-assisted rack and pinion steering.
- It was also given a more conventional rear suspension with leaf springs in a typical Hotchkiss design.
3A mixture in which particles are dispersed throughout the bulk of a fluid: a suspension of maize starch in arachis oil...
- An aerosol is a suspension of very small particles of solid or liquid dispersed in a gas medium.
- One of the simplest ways of demonstrating that an apparent solution is actually a suspension of microscopic particles is through light scattering.
- Milk is a colloidal suspension of oil droplets in water.
3.1 [mass noun] A state in which particles are dispersed throughout a fluid: the agitator in the vat keeps the slurry in suspension...
- It does not dissolve the latex particles, but disperses them in suspension.
- Muds are transported in suspension by surface waters and are widely dispersed from their source area.
- The lipids are held in suspension as tiny globules known as liposomes, and are delivered by a manual-pump aerosol spray onto the closed eye.
4 Music A discord made by prolonging a note of a chord into the following chord.Santana's own contribution is replete with rubato, ornamentation and suspensions....
- He also used sighing suspensions, and unexpected leaps to hold on to bass pedal notes to create chords.
- Each note, once sounded, is held on, to produce a grinding multiple suspension over a quasitonic E at the sixth bar.
Origin
Late Middle English: from French, or from Latin suspensio(n-), from the verb suspendere (see suspend).