interrogate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
interrogates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interrogated,
past participle, past
-
interrogating
present participle
-
to ask questions of (a person), sometimes to seek answers or information that the person questioned considers personal or secret.
- Synonyms:
- query
-
to examine by questions; question formally.
The police captain interrogated the suspect.
-
to analyze (an idea or belief), especially by thoroughly and dispassionately questioning its underlying assumptions.
The antiwork movement seeks to interrogate the concept of work as we know it today.
verb (used without object)
-
interrogates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interrogated,
past participle, past
-
interrogating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interrogeenoun
-
reinterrogateverb
-
interrogableadjective
-
uninterrogableadjective
-
uninterrogatedadjective
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interrogatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
interrogatesimple
-
interrogatessimple
-
have interrogatedperfect
-
has interrogatedperfect
-
am interrogatingprogressive
-
are interrogatingprogressive
-
is interrogatingprogressive
-
have been interrogatingperfect progressive
-
has been interrogatingperfect progressive
Past
-
interrogatedsimple
-
had interrogatedperfect
-
was interrogatingprogressive
-
were interrogatingprogressive
-
had been interrogatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interrogate
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin interrogātus, past participle of interrogāre “to question, examine,” equivalent to inter- “between, among, together” + rogā(re) “to ask” + -tus past participle suffix; see inter-
Explanation
To interrogate is to ask someone a bunch of questions. Usually, it’s the police, FBI, or other law-enforcement officials who interrogate suspects, but your father-in-law may interrogate you about your career plans. Interrogate comes from the Latin prefix inter-, “between” added to the Latin verb rogare, “to ask.” To interrogate someone is not just asking a few polite questions over a cup of tea. When you interrogate someone there is usually a method to the questioning with a specific mission in mind, like determining a criminal's motive or where she stashed the loot. Your college entrance interview may feel like an interrogation, but their mission is really just to get to know you.
Vocabulary lists containing interrogate
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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For Grilled Cheese Day, Vocab with a Twist
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Instead of "Said": Words for Asking and Offering
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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.
See Examples For:
Did ordinary people really want to interrogate Thanksgiving like this?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Teaming them up as a testy odd couple allows “Lanterns” to both highlight Hal’s insecurity and use the Green Lantern universe’s rules to interrogate systemic imbalances.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
She also made Hall's family members "interested persons", meaning they would be able to interrogate evidence or witnesses at a future inquest.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Analysts told AFP that US government officials and lawmakers are likely to interrogate Cheng on the KMT's position on China and its decision to slash the government's special defence budget.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
“Never thought we’d see them kids again, after the brushup on Black Boar. When we interrogate ’em, put the packs on the floor,” he said.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
One day scholars will teach Lepore’s work alongside Arendt’s, seeing that Lepore interrogates not simply a modern moment, but traces our current machine age back to the 17th-century conceit for artifice as improvement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In one scene she attends a party with John Maynard Keynes, and she interrogates the economist much more avidly than she does the giant blue angel who materializes in Geoffrey’s bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” which interrogates the idea of holding onto youthful innocence.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
The U-M team sorts and interrogates recycled pacemakers, only reconditioning those that have more than four years of battery life.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
“What’s to be done?” interrogates the captain, as usual appealing to Seagriff.
From The Land of Fire A Tale of Adventure by Mayne Reid
She was interrogated, accused of being a spy, stripped of her security clearance and sent back to her unit in Guildford, where she was put on laundry duty.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Security agents interrogated people suspected of participating in its activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Before the FBI interrogated him, they asked him to sign a piece of paper.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
It suspends the right of assembly and permits individuals to be arrested and interrogated without a court order.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
Or perhaps some of the prisoners from Haarlem had been interrogated and the truth about our group was known.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
But Trump’s latest posts appear less interested in interrogating Washington than in imagining him as a collaborator — writing, riding and offering design tips to his 21st-century successor.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
And if the conventional wisdom about a candidate is a lot friendlier on that platform than on a competitor’s, I’d spend some extra time interrogating why that might be happening.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Mr. Kendall’s biography avoids being an intrusive, interrogating look at the cartoonist and his longstanding narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
It’s also not like superhero comic books haven’t had storylines about marginalized communities or interrogating people in power.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
“You done interrogating the princeling?” the Roach asks.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
