interrogate
[in-ter-uh-geyt]
- to ask questions of (a person), sometimes to seek answers or information that the person questioned considers personal or secret.
- to examine by questions; question formally: The police captain interrogated the suspect.
- to ask questions, especially formally or officially: the right to interrogate.
Origin of interrogate
1475–85; < Latin interrogātus past participle of interrogāre to question, examine, equivalent to inter- inter- + rogā(re) to ask + -tus past participle suffix
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. query.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for interrogate
Contemporary Examples
There is no pause to interrogate his own immersive activism.
Nigeria’s Larger-Than-Life Nobel Laureate Chronicles a Fascinating LifeChimamanda Adichie
August 9, 2014
Taking the kids from the 10-foot-by-15-foot cell one by one, it took the jailers three days to interrogate them all.
They interrogate members of this strange community and discover that many of them might be complicit in a dark conspiracy.
I play a Homeland Security agent that gets to interrogate Johnny Depp.
Aubrey Plaza on Playing A Zombie in ‘Life After Beth,’ the ‘Daria’ Movie, and MoreMarlow Stern
January 21, 2014
It took her eight days in the hospital to recover enough for the police to be able to interrogate her.
Historical Examples
Simba next called to Mali-ya-bwana to interrogate the other prisoner apart.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
At last Salvat rose, and the presiding judge began to interrogate him.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
Let us place them in a class with our previous opponents, and interrogate both of them at once.
SophistPlato
Let us interrogate the great apparition, that shines so peacefully around us.
NatureRalph Waldo Emerson
"Let us interrogate the ones who are here," suggested Lépine.
The DestroyerBurton Egbert Stevenson
interrogate
- to ask questions (of), esp to question (a witness in court, spy, etc) closely
Word Origin
C15: from Latin interrogāre to question, examine, from rogāre to ask
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for interrogate
v.
late 15c., a back-formation from interrogation, or else from Latin interrogatus, past participle of interrogare "to ask, question" (see interrogation). Related: Interrogated; interrogating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper