inquisitorial
[in-kwiz-i-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-]
- of or relating to an inquisitor or inquisition.
- exercising the office of an inquisitor.
- Law.
- pertaining to a trial with one person or group inquiring into the facts and acting as both prosecutor and judge.
- pertaining to secret criminal prosecutions.
- resembling an inquisitor in harshness or intrusiveness.
- inquisitive; prying.
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Origin of inquisitorial
1755–65; < Medieval Latin inquīsītōri(us) (Latin inquīsītōr-, stem of inquīsītor inquisitor + -ius adj. suffix) + -al1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for inquisitorial
Contemporary Examples
By contrast, the European system is described as "inquisitorial."
So Rangel, bereft of that narrative, chose instead to question the intelligence of a pesky, inquisitorial journalist.
Historical Examples
I intend to be inquisitorial, as the committee say they are,--but not impertinently so.
Slavery Ordained of GodRev. Fred A. Ross, D.D.
On the other hand, the officials were inquisitorial and rapacious.
The Siege of BostonAllen French
This uplifting illusion made him inquisitorial and peremptory.
The Shadow-LineJoseph Conrad
Unflinchingly he stands the inquisitorial glance, and for the time Phoebe is foiled.
The Death ShotMayne Reid
The proceeding, too, was inquisitorial, not accusatorial: it required no accusers.
Not Paul, But JesusJeremy Bentham
inquisitorial
- of, relating to, or resembling inquisition or an inquisitor
- offensively curious; prying
- law denoting criminal procedure in which one party is both prosecutor and judge, or in which the trial is held in secretCompare accusatorial (def. 2)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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