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.

---

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

---

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

The inquisitorial stance was, she said, her role as a congressional overseer charged with holding people accountable.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026

Indeed, the founders loudly decried abuses of inquisitorial courts in which judges find the facts.

From Slate • Oct. 9, 2025

In a letter to the judge, Mr. Trump’s legal team said “the judicial system relies upon vigorous advocacy amongst the parties, rather than inquisitorial research by the presiding judicial officer.”

From Washington Times • Nov. 11, 2022

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 • Dec. 5, 2019

Just as the inquisitorial jurisdiction had superseded the episcopal, so now both were overslaughed as insufficient.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume II by Lea, Henry Charles