suspension: Meaning and Definition of

sus•pen•sion

Pronunciation: (su-spen'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. the act of suspending.
  2. the state of being suspended.
  3. temporary abrogation or withholding, as of a law, privilege, decision, belief, etc.
  4. stoppage of payment of debts or claims because of financial inability or insolvency.
    1. the state in which the particles of a substance are mixed with a fluid but are undissolved.
    2. a substance in such a state.
  5. a system consisting of small particles kept dispersed by agitationor by the molecular motion in the surrounding medium
  6. something on or by which something else is suspended or hung.
  7. something that is suspended or hung.
  8. Also calledthe arrangement of springs, shock absorbers, hangers, etc., in an automobile, railway car, etc., connecting the wheel-suspension units or axles to the chassis frame.
  9. a wire, filament, or group of wires by which the conducting part of an instrument or device is suspended.
    1. the prolongation of a tone in one chord into the following chord, usually producing a temporary dissonance.
    2. the tone so prolonged.
  10. the heightening of interest by delay of the main subject or clause, especially by means of a series of parallel preceding elements.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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