suspense

Definition

The condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.

Etymology

From Middle English suspense, suspence, from Anglo-Norman suspens (as in en suspens) and Old French suspens, from Latin suspēnsus.

Example Sentences

• "For thee the Fates, severely kind, ordain / A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; / Thy life a long dead calm of fix'd repose; / No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows."
• "Ten days the prophet in suspense remain'd."
• "I believe that, to the young, suspense is the most intolerable suffering. Active misery always brings with it its own power of endurance."