interrogate

C2 Topic:Communication

US /ɪnˈtɛɹ.əˌɡeɪt/ UK /ɪnˈtɛɹ.ə.ɡeɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #10776

Meanings

1

verb
To question someone closely and often aggressively.

The police interrogated the suspect for hours before letting him go.
2

verb
To examine something critically and in depth.

The essay interrogates the assumptions behind modern advertising.
3

verb
To request information from a system or database.

The software interrogates the database to find matching records.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to question someone closely... question

Word family

Forms interrogatedinterrogatesinterrogating

Derived forms cross-interrogateinterrogatabilityinterrogatableinterrogatinglyreinterrogateuninterrogated

Related forms interrogableinterrogatee interrogation interrogative interrogatively interrogator interrogatory

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin interrogātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin interrogō (“to inquire, interrogate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

interrogātus Latin interrogō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication Word Formation & Derivatives

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# interrogate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈtɛɹ.əˌɡeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈtɛɹ.ə.ɡeɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 10776

## Meanings
1. To question someone closely and often aggressively.
2. To examine something critically and in depth.
3. To request information from a system or database.

## Examples
- The police interrogated the suspect for hours before letting him go.
- The essay interrogates the assumptions behind modern advertising.
- The software interrogates the database to find matching records.

## Derived Forms
- cross-interrogate
- interrogatability
- interrogatable
- interrogatingly
- reinterrogate
- uninterrogated

## Related Forms
- interrogable
- interrogatee
- interrogation
- interrogative
- interrogatively
- interrogator
- interrogatory

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: interrogātus
- Root: interrogō

## Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin interrogātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin interrogō (“to inquire, interrogate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

## AI Etymology
Interrogate is a learned borrowing from Latin interrogātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin interrogō (“to inquire, interrogate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Important recorded forms include interrogātus (Latin) and interrogō (Latin). Current senses include to question someone closely and often aggressively and to examine something critically and in depth. The wider family includes derived forms such as cross-interrogate, interrogatability, interrogatable, interrogatingly, and reinterrogate; related words such as interrogable, interrogatee, interrogation, and interrogative.

## Topics
- Communication
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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interrogate

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