Phrase guide

wife-beating question

noun · 1 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A question that presupposes some controversial premise, such that it cannot be directly answered without incriminating oneself or, at least, unintentionally conceding a point; a loaded question.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rhetoric

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From wife-beating + question, with reference to the oft-cited example "Have you stopped beating your wife?".

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 另有用意的問題 /另有用意的问题 (lìngyǒu yòngyì de wèntí) — loaded question
  • Finnish: "joko olet lakannut hakkaamasta vaimoasi" -kysymys — loaded question
  • German: Fangfrage — loaded question
  • Polish: tendencyjne pytanie — loaded question
  • Russian: провокацио́нный вопро́с (provokaciónnyj voprós) — loaded question
  • Russian: вопро́с ти́па «Вы уже́ переста́ли пить конья́к по утра́м?» — loaded question
  • Spanish: pregunta capciosa — loaded question