interrogate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interrogeenoun
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reinterrogateverb
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interrogableadjective
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uninterrogableadjective
-
uninterrogatedadjective
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interrogatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
interrogatesimple
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interrogatessimple
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have interrogatedperfect
-
has interrogatedperfect
-
am interrogatingprogressive
-
are interrogatingprogressive
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is interrogatingprogressive
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have been interrogatingperfect progressive
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has been interrogatingperfect progressive
Past
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interrogatedsimple
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had interrogatedperfect
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was interrogatingprogressive
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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:
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
Hansen would then make a dramatic entrance and interrogate the men, who would often stammer and bumble through the encounter before leaving.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
“When I have party meetings and they bring executives that are likely to be witnesses, I interrogate the executives,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
"We are left to speculate some, as our ability to interrogate insulators stops a little," explained Dean -- their expertise is in transport measurements, and insulators don't transport a current.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026
I assure her I did not and run down the hall to my room before she can interrogate me further.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
In “Willing and Able,” he interrogates his motivation as an artist, and whether he exploits those close to him for material—“And I’ll see you again in six months, when you need your next song.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Nevertheless, “Devil in Disguise” interrogates the police’s tendency to mischaracterize his victims, fueling the media and the public’s subsequent rush to cast the dead as somehow deserving of their fate.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 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
Her album is the second part of a trilogy that interrogates the roots of American musical traditions and uncovers the often unheralded contributions made by black artists.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2024
It is a young girl who thus strangely interrogates.
From Gwen Wynn A Romance of the Wye by Reid, Mayne
Once in El Salvador, the crewmen of the Don Maca say they were interrogated, denied they were traffickers, and, eventually, were allowed to contact their families and leave for home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 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
Starting Sunday the funeral home holding his body was surrounded by dozens of soldiers, national guardsmen, and police who interrogated anyone who came close.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
“I am not interested in what you have to say right now. The truth will come out when you are both interrogated under the influence of truth serum.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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
Katie’s journey towards a fully autonomous adulthood is their way of interrogating that, making her story as central to “Rooster” as Greg’s reinvention.
From Salon ● May 11, 2026
Iran's feared judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei appeared to take the lead earlier this month by personally interrogating detainees in sessions broadcast by state TV.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Lilleaas may have decided against becoming a psychologist, but she’s always interrogating her motivations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
Every morning he ties his shoes, packs newspaper inside his coat as insulation against the cold, and begins interrogating the world.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
