interrogate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
interrogates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interrogated,
past participle, past
-
interrogating
present participle
-
to ask questions of (a person), sometimes to seek answers or information that the person questioned considers personal or secret.
- Synonyms:
- query
-
to examine by questions; question formally.
The police captain interrogated the suspect.
-
to analyze (an idea or belief), especially by thoroughly and dispassionately questioning its underlying assumptions.
The antiwork movement seeks to interrogate the concept of work as we know it today.
verb (used without object)
-
interrogates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interrogated,
past participle, past
-
interrogating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interrogeenoun
-
reinterrogateverb
-
interrogableadjective
-
uninterrogableadjective
-
uninterrogatedadjective
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interrogatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
interrogatesimple
-
interrogatessimple
-
have interrogatedperfect
-
has interrogatedperfect
-
am interrogatingprogressive
-
are interrogatingprogressive
-
is interrogatingprogressive
-
have been interrogatingperfect progressive
-
has been interrogatingperfect progressive
Past
-
interrogatedsimple
-
had interrogatedperfect
-
was interrogatingprogressive
-
were interrogatingprogressive
-
had been interrogatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interrogate
First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin interrogātus, past participle of interrogāre “to question, examine,” equivalent to inter- “between, among, together” + rogā(re) “to ask” + -tus past participle suffix; see inter-
Explanation
To interrogate is to ask someone a bunch of questions. Usually, it’s the police, FBI, or other law-enforcement officials who interrogate suspects, but your father-in-law may interrogate you about your career plans. Interrogate comes from the Latin prefix inter-, “between” added to the Latin verb rogare, “to ask.” To interrogate someone is not just asking a few polite questions over a cup of tea. When you interrogate someone there is usually a method to the questioning with a specific mission in mind, like determining a criminal's motive or where she stashed the loot. Your college entrance interview may feel like an interrogation, but their mission is really just to get to know you.
Vocabulary lists containing interrogate
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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For Grilled Cheese Day, Vocab with a Twist
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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.
See Examples For:
In that scenario, the AI avatar would serve as the mayor, looking to interrogate the consultant’s recommendations, Zafar said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
"Defectors are the main source of information about the North," said Fyodor Tertitsky, lecturer at Seoul's Korea University, noting both South Korean intelligence and researchers interrogate them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Did ordinary people really want to interrogate Thanksgiving like this?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
She should read labels, mistrust mysterious additives, interrogate old nutritional orthodoxies and learn to distinguish “real” food from whatever came before it.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
As long as you give “consent,” the police can stop, interrogate, and search you for any reason or no reason at all.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Fielder interrogates their initial meeting and how their relationship unfolded in the film.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
While reveling in the silly masquerade, “Fake It Until You Make It” interrogates the meaning of racial identity and authenticity, leaving no dogmatic position unscathed by irony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
The U-M team sorts and interrogates recycled pacemakers, only reconditioning those that have more than four years of battery life.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
Her album is the second part of a trilogy that interrogates the roots of American musical traditions and uncovers the often unheralded contributions made by black artists.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2024
The religious poet, in his Night Thoughts, interrogates the inhabitants of a distant star, whether their race too has, in its history, events resembling the fall of man, and the redemption of man.
From The Plurality of Worlds by Edward Hitchcock
The officers interrogated her, and many others, for several hours.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
That title refers in part to George W. Bush, but chiefly to Saddam Hussein: It was Nixon who first interrogated the notorious Iraqi leader, a slippery subject and indignant prisoner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
He was interrogated alongside his running mate in the presence of their lawyers, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Once in El Salvador, the crewmen of the Don Maca say they were interrogated, denied they were traffickers, and, eventually, were allowed to contact their families and leave for home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
“Your grandmother has already interrogated the ambassador. Really annoyed him.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
The Kings note the episode is interested in interrogating the cult of the tech mogul, specifically examining how figures operate outside of traditional ethics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
"Ask some open questions, instead of interrogating them," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
And if the conventional wisdom about a candidate is a lot friendlier on that platform than on a competitor’s, I’d spend some extra time interrogating why that might be happening.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
Katie’s journey towards a fully autonomous adulthood is their way of interrogating that, making her story as central to “Rooster” as Greg’s reinvention.
From Salon ● May 11, 2026
But I am telling you—you who know so much about interrogating people and observing the hidden meaning of their hearts—I am telling you; I think she might have looked away to strengthen herself.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
