- suggest
- verb1 propose sth/state sth indirectlyADVERB▪ highly (esp. AmE), strongly▪
I strongly suggest keeping personal and business accounts separate.
▪ tentatively▪I tentatively suggested that she might be happier working somewhere else.
▪ gently, humbly, politely, respectfully, tactfully▪I would respectfully suggest a different explanation for the company's decline.
▪ seriously▪You're not seriously suggesting that is a plausible explanation?
▪ jokingly▪ hopefully▪‘We could go for a drive.’ Nate suggested hopefully.
▪ helpfully▪‘Shall I tell them you're unwell?’ Alice suggested helpfully.
▪ falsely, rightly▪ initially, originally, previously▪ merely▪I am merely suggesting that there is more than one way to view this matter.
VERB + SUGGEST▪ seem reasonable to▪It seems reasonable to suggest that all life forms on earth share a common origin.
▪ be far-fetched to, seem far-fetched to▪It is not far-fetched to suggest a connection between them.
▪ be wrong to▪ be tempting to▪ dare (to)▪How dare you suggest such a thing?
▪ hesitate to▪ not mean to▪I do not mean to suggest that the poem is purely biographical.
PREPOSITION▪ as▪She suggested John as chairman.
▪ for▪Who would you suggest for the job?
▪ to▪He suggested to the committee that they delay making a decision.
PHRASES▪ can I suggest … , I suggest … , I would suggest … , may I suggest …▪I would suggest that you see your doctor about this.
2 show sth in an indirect wayADVERB▪ certainly, clearly, strongly▪The evidence suggests quite strongly that the fire was caused by an explosion.
▪ subtly▪ implicitly, indirectly▪The novel implicitly suggests that racism can explain the murder.
▪ otherwise▪The evidence suggests otherwise.
VERB + SUGGEST▪ seem to▪The evidence seems to suggest that he did steal the money.
▪ be meant to▪The ending is meant to suggest a form of redemption.
Suggest is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑argument, ↑article, ↑author, ↑common sense, ↑critic, ↑data, ↑detail, ↑difference, ↑document, ↑essay, ↑estimate, ↑evidence, ↑examination, ↑example, ↑experience, ↑experiment, ↑expert, ↑explanation, ↑expression, ↑figure, ↑finding, ↑forecast, ↑guideline, ↑history, ↑hypothesis, ↑image, ↑indication, ↑indicator, ↑inspection, ↑intuition, ↑investigation, ↑manner, ↑metaphor, ↑name, ↑painting, ↑panel, ↑passage, ↑poll, ↑reasoning, ↑recommendation, ↑record, ↑remark, ↑report, ↑research, ↑researcher, ↑result, ↑review, ↑scientist, ↑source, ↑statistics, ↑study, ↑survey, ↑text, ↑theory, ↑tone, ↑trend, ↑writer, ↑writingSuggest is used with these nouns as the object: ↑alternative, ↑amendment, ↑analogy, ↑answer, ↑caution, ↑compromise, ↑diagnosis, ↑existence, ↑guideline, ↑hypothesis, ↑idea, ↑importance, ↑improvement, ↑increase, ↑involvement, ↑link, ↑measure, ↑mechanism, ↑modification, ↑motive, ↑need, ↑origin, ↑parallel, ↑possibility, ↑presence, ↑reading, ↑reason, ↑remedy, ↑revision, ↑scenario, ↑solution, ↑strategy, ↑treatment, ↑trend
Collocations dictionary. 2013.