inquisitorial

American  

[in-kwiz-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-] / ɪnˌkwɪz ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr- /

adjective

1. of or relating to an inquisitor or inquisition.

2. exercising the office of an inquisitor.

3. Law.

   1. pertaining to a trial with one person or group inquiring into the facts and acting as both prosecutor and judge.

   2. pertaining to secret criminal prosecutions.

4. resembling an inquisitor in harshness or intrusiveness.

5. inquisitive; prying.

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inquisitorial British  

/ ɪnˌkwɪzɪˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling inquisition or an inquisitor

2. offensively curious; prying

3. law denoting criminal procedure in which one party is both prosecutor and judge, or in which the trial is held in secret Compare accusatorial

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Other Word Forms

• inquisitorially adverb
• inquisitorialness noun
• uninquisitorial adjective
• uninquisitorially adverb

Etymology

Origin of inquisitorial

1755–65; < Medieval Latin inquīsītōri ( us ) ( Latin inquīsītōr-, stem of inquīsītor inquisitor + -ius adj. suffix) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

In a letter Mr. Bailey sent to members of the academy days after the vote, he wrote that the organization could not become “an inquisitorial court.”

From New York Times

Some Spaniards embraced the restrictions with inquisitorial fervour.

From The Guardian

“Keir is not a shouter or a screamer. He’s asking questions in an inquisitorial way, but he also examines the responses he receives.”

From New York Times

A model of inquisitorial technique, she calmly talked over him even when he was loud and insistent.

From The Guardian

Five years later, Robert Allan joined 59 others on a grand jury, “the first sitting of an inquisitorial body” since Seattle’s passage of liquor prohibition.

From Seattle Times