question
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Something you ask when you want an answer.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwehschuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɛstʃən
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply
A worded or expressed sentence, phrase, or only a word on its own, which asks for information, a reply, or a response; an interrogative.
A doubt or challenge about the truth, accuracy, or validity of a matter.
A subject or topic for consideration or investigation.
A proposal to a meeting as a topic for deliberation.
verb
intransitive
To ask a question or questions; inquire or seek to know; examine.
transitive
To raise doubts about; have doubts about.
Pose a series of questions to
“The suspect was questioned by the police.”
transitive
To ask questions of; to interrogate; to ask for information.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A doubt or challenge about the truth, accuracy, or validity of a matter.
Used this way, question is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Careful and exacting
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Nearby words
- interrogative sentence , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use question
- “The question of disease merits serious discussion.”noun
- “There was a question about my training.”noun
- “The suspect was questioned by the police.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A request for information.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Subject to question.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The host or chairman of a radio or tv quiz show or panel game.
A punctuation mark (?) placed at the end of a sentence to indicate a question.
A disputed factual contention that is generally left for a jury to decide.
A disputed legal contention that is generally left for a judge to decide.
A written examination.
A period during a parliamentary session when members of British Parliament may ask questions of the ministers.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A form containing a set of questions.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
noun
Sense: sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply
Antonyms
Sense: sentence of inquiry that asks for a reply
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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.