grand inquisitor

American  

noun

1. (often initial capital letters) the presiding officer of a court of inquisition.

---

Example Sentences

Count among them Austria's Paul Ehrenfest, “the grand Inquisitor of physics,” whose terrors drive the novel's brisk, wrenching first section.

From Scientific American

Walters, who died Friday at 93, was America’s Grand Inquisitor, a groundbreaking journalist who was unafraid to probe the unapproachable with people unaccustomed to such effrontery.

From Slate

Under the nom de plume “Torquemada” — a pseudonym he adopted to imply he would be as cruel to readers as Spanish Grand Inquisitor Tómas de Torquemada — Mathers penned 670 crosswords for the Observer newspaper over the course of his career.

From Washington Post

In the final film, Brooks takes center stage during this segment, hamming it up as the grand inquisitor Torquemada.

From Salon

The foreboding message from the start of the trailer ultimately sets us up to meet the menacing Grand Inquisitor.

From Salon