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Synonyms

questioning

American  
[kwes-chuh-ning] / ˈkwɛs tʃə nɪŋ /

adjective

  1. indicating or implying a question.

    a questioning tone in her voice.

  2. characterized by or indicating intellectual curiosity; inquiring.

    an alert and questioning mind.

noun

  1. an inquiry or interrogation.

questioning British  
/ ˈkwɛstʃənɪŋ /

adjective

  1. proceeding from or characterized by a feeling of doubt or uncertainty

  2. enthusiastic or eager for philosophical or other investigations; intellectually stimulated

    an alert and questioning mind
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • half-questioning adjective
  • half-questioningly adverb
  • questioningly adverb
  • unquestioning adjective

Etymology

Origin of questioning

First recorded in 1795–1805; question + -ing 2, -ing 1

Explanation

Questioning is an appeal or demand for an answer, or for more information. Sometimes the police will bring a witness to a crime into the station for questioning. When you participate in questioning, you may very well have a questioning look on your face. As an adjective, questioning can mean "curious," "confused or perplexed," or even "skeptical." If you show up at school in a clown costume, your teachers and friends might look at you in a questioning way — or they may dive right into the questioning, demanding: "What on earth are you wearing?"

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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.

It was a pointed line of questioning because Warsh had spent the hearing trashing the Fed’s recent record, and now the same scrutiny was being turned on his own.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

And that’s not a bad thing, notwithstanding the many skeptics who are questioning Cook’s achievements and the path he put Apple on.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

Still, Kennedy denied making the statements during his questioning by Sewell.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

“For the first time in my life, my friends were questioning: ‘Maybe I should stay, maybe I have a future here,’” 33-year-old Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández remembers of that time.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Duuzuu noticed me donning my coat and made his questioning noise.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

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.