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direct question

British  

noun

  1. a question asked in direct speech, such as Why did you come? Compare indirect question

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

We opted for a role-playing framework instead of a direct question to navigate around LLM guardrails.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 27, 2025

“I tried to come up with the most direct question possible.”

From Salon • Sep. 3, 2025

“Grow up, Guy Pearce. You are not a victim,” the two-time Oscar winner wrote Tuesday on X, where he also posted a video responding to Pearce’s answers to a direct question on a recent podcast.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2025

The easiest and most direct question a reporter can ask a politician and their team.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2022

One night Pawlak asked Kelley a direct question.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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.