Spanish Inquisition

American  

noun

1. the Inquisition in Spain, under state control from 1480 to 1834, marked by the extreme severity and cruelty of its proceedings in the 16th century.

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Spanish Inquisition British  

noun

1. the institution that guarded the orthodoxy of Catholicism in Spain, chiefly by the persecution of Jews and Muslims, esp from the 15th to 17th centuries See also Inquisition

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Spanish Inquisition Cultural  

1. The church court of the Inquisition, as established in Spain in the late fifteenth century. (See also Tomás de Torquemada (see also Torquemada).)

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Example Sentences

It inspired the people of Billings more than 30 years ago, and it has inspired the Jewish people through some of their most trying times in history—from the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Here's a bit of a history lesson: My family was originally from Sicily, and we're talking before the Spanish Inquisition of 1492.

From Salon • Sep. 28, 2024

It all plays out against the grim backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2023

Their odd conical hats are said to date back to the Spanish Inquisition when prisoners were made to wear them.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 16, 2022

“Don’t get your hopes up, Paloma. Five hundred years is a long time, and if our family was forced to leave during the Spanish Inquisition, some of the memories could be bitter.”

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar