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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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:
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
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
They don’t interrogate many women in Ormaie—usually send them straight to prison in Paris, I think.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
In one scene she attends a party with John Maynard Keynes, and she interrogates the economist much more avidly than she does the giant blue angel who materializes in Geoffrey’s bedroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 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
But I do feel like, in this age of alternative facts and fantasy, it’s more important than ever that art speaks the truth and interrogates that without fear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2024
So Richard Darke interrogates himself, retreating from the strangest apparition human eyes ever saw.
From The Death Shot A Story Retold by Mayne Reid
Pujo’s counsel, Samuel Untermyer, interrogated Morgan relentlessly, forcing the banker into transparently false denials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
He was interrogated alongside his running mate in the presence of their lawyers, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
It interrogated the criteria of credibility themselves—what makes a teaching trustworthy, what makes a source authoritative, what distinguishes faithful transmission from motivated distortion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Nothing of this nature was found, but Katya was nevertheless interrogated by law enforcement.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
It was not the same room in which he had once been interrogated for improper use of magic.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
"The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 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
It’s also not like superhero comic books haven’t had storylines about marginalized communities or interrogating people in power.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Every morning he ties his shoes, packs newspaper inside his coat as insulation against the cold, and begins interrogating the world.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
