inquisitorial
1
9.1
- adjective
- /ɪnˌkwɪzɪˈtɔriəl/
:
inquisitorial
- I pass the house of my mother's friend, always known as little Mrs. McCarthy, deaf and inquisitorial, and the brooding clouds in the postcard are moving slowly across the sky over Loyd where there are town allotments and a paupers' graveyard.
Examples
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That the scene of inquisitorial interrogation is enacted neither on nor off the stage but contained behind a gridded partition makes its presence all the more absent, illusory, and finally ineffectual.
Academic text (1997) -
Perhaps he really wanted to learn, or at least keep a channel open, but his way of asking was so inquisitorial, so overshadowed by suspicion of everything non-European, that I perceived only ignorance and hostility.
Academic text (1999) -
There was something about her intrusive friendliness and her inquisitorial manner that suggested this as a possibility.
Fiction book (2001) -
At this juncture, it is important to be clear about the principal differences between inquisitorial and accusatorial judicial processes, and to remember that the Santo Oficio, despite its use of prosecuting and defense attorneys, was an archetypal inquisitorial process.
Academic text (2000) -
Thus, if any punitive, inquisitorial interest in sex surfaced during the Clinton scandals, it was thanks to the feminists who had made the whole area of sexual behavior a matter of supreme national interest and intensive official scrutiny that frequently obviated procedural fairness.
Academic text (2000) -
The detective had an inquisitorial style that made witnesses uncomfortable as he pressed them for details.
-
Her inquisitorial approach during the interview revealed more about the suspect than he intended to share.
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They found the committee's inquisitorial questioning probing and unsettling as it uncovered hidden issues.
Synonyms
1
8.9
Using harsh, repeated questions that make someone feel nervous
1
9.1
Showing that someone asks questions in a formal, serious way
Asking careful questions to find facts or details
Antonyms
How Probing
Surface Forms
Morphology
inquisitorial = inquisitor (transparent) = inquisitor + ial
Formed by adding the adjective-forming suffix '-ial' to 'inquisitor'; the meaning 'like an inquisitor' is directly predictable.
Etymology
Inquisitorial comes from the same root as inquire and inquiry, with the parts in- 'into' and quaerere 'to ask' or 'seek'. So an inquisitorial person asks sharp, prying questions — literally 'asking into' something — which is why the word describes a harsh, searching tone.