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interrogate

verb

Simple meaning

To question or quiz.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihntehruhgayt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪnˈtɛɹəɡeɪt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To question or quiz, especially in a thorough and/or aggressive manner

  2. transitivecomputing

    To query; to request information from.

  3. transitiveliterary

    To examine critically.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To question or quiz, especially in a thorough and/or aggressive manner

Used this way, interrogate is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Careful and exacting
Usage feel
Precise and approving

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use interrogate

  • “The police interrogated the suspect at some length before they let him go.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

critically interrogate

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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to question or quiz

question

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.