cross-examiner
1
8.3
- noun
- /ˌkrɔsɪɡˈzæmɪnər/
- Formal
:
abogado de contrainterrogatorio
- Ristoff was cross-examining the once greatest cross-examiner of them all, Francis Lee Bailey himself.
Examples
-
In the courtroom, the cross-examiner skillfully challenged the witness's earlier statements.
-
But Robert was a good cross-examiner.
Fiction book (1991) -
"It's a set of verbal habits good cross-examiners have to develop," he said.
Academic text (2009) -
The defense attorney acted as a cross-examiner, probing for inconsistencies in the witness's testimony.
-
As a seasoned cross-examiner, she knew how to extract crucial details from reluctant witnesses.
Synonyms
86
3.0
A person who asks questions to get information in a job or news interview
43
6.8
A person who asks someone many questions to get information during an investigation
A person who asks a witness many careful questions in court about earlier statements
How Aggressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
cross-examiner = cross-examine (transparent) = cross + examine + er
The agentive suffix '-er' attaches to the verb 'cross-examine' to produce 'cross-examiner' meaning a person who performs that action; this is a straightforward, productive formation.
Etymology
Cross-examiner comes from the parts cross ('against' or 'from the other side') and examine ('to question closely'). So a cross-examiner is literally someone from the other side who 'tests' a witness with tough questions, which is exactly what this person does in court.