interrogate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
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
-
uninterrogatedadjective
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interrogatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
interrogatesimple
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interrogatessimple
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have interrogatedperfect
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has interrogatedperfect
-
am interrogatingprogressive
-
are 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
-
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.
See Examples For:
Analysts told AFP that US government officials and lawmakers are likely to interrogate Cheng on the KMT's position on China and its decision to slash the government's special defence budget.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
“As a member of the board, you can advise, you can guide, you can ask questions, you can interrogate, you can disagree, but you don’t have the authority to execute,” said Rose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
“We already knew he was a controversial figure, and we have to now further confront this and interrogate him head-on.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
"We are left to speculate some, as our ability to interrogate insulators stops a little," explained Dean -- their expertise is in transport measurements, and insulators don't transport a current.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026
He left Blackie surrounded by guards and rushed with Agent Smith to interrogate Burkhart again.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
In “Willing and Able,” he interrogates his motivation as an artist, and whether he exploits those close to him for material—“And I’ll see you again in six months, when you need your next song.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
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
While certain details establish a connection between the two shows, “Echoes” is less a copy of the original than a complement that further interrogates similar themes around humanity and identity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
After the reading of the Indictment by the Clerk of the Court, the President interrogates the prisoner.
From My Memoirs by Steinheil, Marguerite
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
He said they drove him to an empty field and interrogated him before his friends published the alleged attackers' names on social media, at which point the men dropped him on a nearby street.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
Security agents interrogated people suspected of participating in its activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Martina’s brother told Ahmad that she’d been interrogated by the FBI, that their address had been broadcast on the news, and that Martina had taken their girls to a safe place.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
Tally remembered that first terrible morning, yanked away from the promised operation, flown out to be interrogated, her future pulled out from under her.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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
The teams pushed back, demanding evidence and interrogating assumptions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Footage broadcast by state media showed the judiciary chief seated before an Iranian flag in a large, ornate room in the prison, interrogating a prisoner himself.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
“The coppers have been secretly searching rooms and interrogating automats. They took Feste.”
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
