suspend (one's) disbelief
To ignore or look past one's incredulity at the improbability of something that occurs within a piece of fiction in order to better enjoy the experience of the work. I'm more than willing to suspend my disbelief a little for a cheesy action film. I find that I can never really suspend my disbelief when I watch a movie that's crammed full of CGI.
suspend (someone or something) by (something)
To use something as a means of hanging someone or something from an elevated point or fixture. Often used in passive constructions. They suspended me by a safety harness on the end of a cable to grab the young woman from the tree. The airplanes in the diorama were suspended by pieces of fishing line.
suspend from (something)
1. To force one to stop attending or participating in some activity, usually on a temporary basis as a form of punishment. A noun or pronoun is used between "suspend" and "from"; often used in passive constructions. The officer has been suspended from duty while the department investigates his actions. As a result of your actions, I'm afraid we have no choice but to suspend you from school for a week.
2. To cause someone or something to hang from some elevated point or fixture. A noun or pronoun is used between "suspend" and "from"; often used in passive constructions. The performers were suspended from the ceiling during the routine, created quite the impressive spectacle. We can suspend the balloons from the chandelier.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
suspend someone from something
to prevent someone from participating in something. (Usually as a form of discipline.) The principal suspended the student from classes for a week. Ted was suspended from school for three days.
suspend someone or something from something
to hang someone or something from something. The hangman suspended the thief from a gibbet as a warning to others. Jill suspended each decoration from a different branch.
suspend something by something
to hang something by something. The workers carefully positioned the stone that was suspended by a steel cable. Will suspended the decoration by a fine thread.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
suspend disbelief
To accept as plausible something one knows to be untrue, especially the setting and plot of a drama or fiction so as to allow the appreciation of art.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.