inquisitorial
Americanadjective
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of or relating to an inquisitor or inquisition.
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exercising the office of an inquisitor.
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Law.
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pertaining to a trial with one person or group inquiring into the facts and acting as both prosecutor and judge.
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pertaining to secret criminal prosecutions.
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resembling an inquisitor in harshness or intrusiveness.
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inquisitive; prying.
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling inquisition or an inquisitor
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offensively curious; prying
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law denoting criminal procedure in which one party is both prosecutor and judge, or in which the trial is held in secret Compare accusatorial
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of inquisitorial
1755–65; < Medieval Latin inquīsītōri ( us ) ( Latin inquīsītōr-, stem of inquīsītor inquisitor + -ius adj. suffix) + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The inquisitorial stance was, she said, her role as a congressional overseer charged with holding people accountable.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026
In a letter to the judge, Mr. Trump’s legal team said “the judicial system relies upon vigorous advocacy amongst the parties, rather than inquisitorial research by the presiding judicial officer.”
From Washington Times • Nov. 11, 2022
Five years later, Robert Allan joined 59 others on a grand jury, “the first sitting of an inquisitorial body” since Seattle’s passage of liquor prohibition.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 5, 2019
“We’ve gone from an adversarial system to what I’d call an inquisitorial system, meaning there’s one person—i.e., the prosecutor—putting defendants through their paces.”
From Slate • Apr. 7, 2015
Fortunately for William, the bishop chose to direct the proceedings himself, and they show complete disregard of inquisitorial methods.
From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
