Standard Lemma guide

interrogation

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˌteɹ.əˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N T EH2 R AH0 G EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of interrogating or questioning; an examination by questions; an inquiry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A question put; an inquiry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A question mark.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, dated, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an instance of questioning

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • there was a question about my training
  • we made inquiries of all those who were present

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: question, inquiry, enquiry, query

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: questioning, inquiring

5

noun

Meaning 5

formal systematic questioning

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: examination, interrogatory

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: questioning, inquiring

Narrower terms: catechism, deposition, inquisition, third degree, cross-examination, direct examination, redirect examination, reexamination, interview, debriefing

6

noun

Meaning 6

a sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he asked a direct question
  • he had trouble phrasing his interrogations

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: question, interrogative, interrogative sentence

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sentence

Narrower terms: cross-question, leading question, yes-no question

7

noun

Meaning 7

a transmission that will trigger an answering transmission from a transponder

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: transmission

History

Etymology

From Middle English interrogacion, from Old French interrogacion, from Latin interrogātiō, from interrogō, from inter- (“between; among”) + rogō (“to ask; to request”). Equivalent to inter- + rogation or interrogate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

101 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَحْقِيق مَعَ (taḥqīq maʕa) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Arabic: اِسْتِجْوَاب (istijwāb) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Arabic: اِسْتِنْطَاق (istinṭāq) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Armenian: հարցաքննություն (harcʻakʻnnutʻyun) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Azerbaijani: dindirmə — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Azerbaijani: sorğu-sual — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Belarusian: апыта́нне (apytánnje) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Belarusian: до́пыт (dópyt) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Bulgarian: ра́зпит (rázpit) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Catalan: interrogatori — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Chinese Mandarin: 疑問 /疑问 (yíwèn) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Czech: výslech — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Danish: afhøre — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Danish: udspørge — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Danish: forhøre — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Dutch: verhoor — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Dutch: ondervraging — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Esperanto: priaŭskulto — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Estonian: ülekuulamine — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Finnish: kuulustelu — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Georgian: დაკითხვა (daḳitxva) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • German: Befragung — act of interrogating or questioning
  • German: Vernehmung — act of interrogating or questioning
  • German: Verhör — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Hebrew: חֲקִירָה (khakirá) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Hindi: पूछताछ (pūchtāch) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Hungarian: kihallgatás — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Hungarian: vallatás — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Indonesian: interogasi — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Indonesian: sudi siasat — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Indonesian: kompes — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Irish: ceistiú — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Irish: ceistiúchán — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Italian: interrogazione — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Japanese: 尋問 (jinmon) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Japanese: 聴取 (chōshu) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Japanese: 取り調べ (torishirabe) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Kazakh: жауап алу (jauap alu) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Khmer: ការសួរចំឡើយ (kaa suǝ cɑmlaəy) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Korean: 심문 (simmun) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Korean: 개물음 (gaemureum) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Kyrgyz: допрос (dopros) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Kyrgyz: сурак (surak) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Latvian: nopratināšana — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Lithuanian: apklausa — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Macedonian: сослушување (soslušuvanje) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Macedonian: испитување (ispituvanje) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Malay: soal siasat — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Mongolian: байцаалт (bajcaalt) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Norwegian Bokmål: forhør — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Norwegian Bokmål: avhør — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Persian: بازجویی (bâzjuyi) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Persian: استنطاق (estentâq) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Persian: بازپرسی (bâzporsi) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Polish: przesłuchanie — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Polish: interrogacja — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Portuguese: interrogatório — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Romanian: interogare — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Russian: опро́с (oprós) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Russian: допро́с (doprós) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Serbo-Croatian: испити́ва̄ње — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Serbo-Croatian: ispitívānje — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Slovak: výsluch — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Slovak: vypočúvanie — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Slovene: zaslišanje — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Slovene: izpraševanje — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Spanish: interrogatorio — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Swedish: förhör — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Tajik: тергав (tergav) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Tajik: истинток (istintok) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Tajik: пурсиш (pursiš) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Tajik: бозпурсӣ (bozpursi) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Turkish: sorgu — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Turkmen: sorag — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Ukrainian: до́пит (dópyt) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Ukrainian: о́пит (ópyt) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Uyghur: سوراق قىلىش (soraq qilish) — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Uzbek: soʻroq — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Uzbek: soʻroq qilish — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Vietnamese: thẩm vấn — act of interrogating or questioning
  • Bulgarian: запи́тване (zapítvane) — question put; an inquiry
  • Danish: afhøring — question put; an inquiry
  • Danish: udspørgning — question put; an inquiry
  • Danish: forhør — question put; an inquiry
  • Hungarian: kikérdezés — question put; an inquiry
  • Hungarian: tudakozódás — question put; an inquiry
  • Indonesian: penanyaan — question put; an inquiry
  • Italian: interrogazione — question put; an inquiry
  • Polish: zapytanie — question put; an inquiry
  • Polish: badanie — question put; an inquiry
  • Polish: interrogacja — question put; an inquiry
  • Portuguese: interrogação — question put; an inquiry
  • Spanish: interrogación — question put; an inquiry
  • Swedish: utfrågning — question put; an inquiry
  • Bulgarian: въпроси́телна (vǎprosítelna) — point, mark, or sign
  • Danish: spørgsmålstegn — point, mark, or sign
  • German: Fragezeichen — point, mark, or sign
  • Polish: znak zapytania — point, mark, or sign
  • Polish: pytajnik — point, mark, or sign
  • Portuguese: interrogação — point, mark, or sign
  • Spanish: signo de interrogación — point, mark, or sign