interrogate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to ask questions of (a person), sometimes to seek answers or information that the person questioned considers personal or secret.
- Synonyms:
- query
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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)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interrogeenoun
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reinterrogateverb
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interrogableadjective
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uninterrogableadjective
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uninterrogatedadjective
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interrogatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interrogatesimple
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interrogatessimple
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have interrogatedperfect
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has interrogatedperfect
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are interrogatingprogressive
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am interrogatingprogressive
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is interrogatingprogressive
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have been interrogatingperfect progressive
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has been interrogatingperfect progressive
Past
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interrogatedsimple
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had interrogatedperfect
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was interrogatingprogressive
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were interrogatingprogressive
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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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Instead of "Said": Words for Asking and Offering
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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.
This provides “A Soldier’s Play,” which opened on Thursday at the American Airlines Theater, the solid if programmatic structure of a police procedural: Interrogate, rinse, repeat.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2020
My reply is ready: Interrogate facts, consult humanity: we can choose no better guide.
From System of Economical Contradictions; or, the Philosophy of Misery by Proudhon, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph)
Interrogate a thousand men, and you will find that none of them has first set eyes upon his greatest friend in the Mosque of Cordoba or in Trafalgar Square.
From The Unpopular Review, Volume II Number 3 by Various
About the sable blood frequent they swarm'd, But I consid'ring sat, how I might each Interrogate, and thus resolv'd.
From The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, Volume I (of 3) by Knowles, John
Interrogate your own recollections and say, if, when you are pursuing a new truth, a walk, the intercourse of society, or even sleep, have the privilege of distracting you from the object of your thoughts?
From Biographies of Distinguished Scientific Men by Grant, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
