Definition

1. Verb:
   • To ask someone a series of questions in a formal, thorough, and often forceful way, especially to obtain information or a confession. This is the most common meaning, typically used in legal, police, or official contexts.
   • To transmit a signal to trigger a response from a device or system. This is a technical meaning used in computing and telecommunications.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (To question formally):
  • The detectives will interrogate the suspect for several hours.
  • The lawyer interrogated the witness to find inconsistencies in her story.
• Verb (Technical: to transmit a signal):
  • The system interrogates the transponder to receive flight data.

Advanced Usage

• "to interrogate a database": In computing, this means to query a database thoroughly to extract specific information.
  • The software can interrogate the database to generate custom reports.
• "to interrogate the text": In literary or critical analysis, this means to examine a text deeply by asking probing questions about its meaning, assumptions, and context.
  • The professor encouraged us to interrogate the novel's portrayal of gender roles.

Variants and Related Words

• Interrogation (n): The act or process of interrogating.
  • The suspect was taken in for interrogation.
• Interrogator (n): A person who interrogates.
  • The interrogator remained calm throughout the interview.
• Interrogative (adj): Having the form or force of a question.
  • She raised an interrogative eyebrow.
• Reinterrogate (v): To interrogate again.
  • The new evidence forced police to reinterrogate the witness.

Synonyms

• Question: To ask questions of someone (less formal and forceful than ).
• Cross-examine: To question someone, especially a witness in court, to check or discredit their testimony.
• Debrief: To question someone in detail about a completed mission or task.
• Grill (informal): To question someone intensely and persistently.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Interrogate" is not commonly used with particles to form phrasal verbs. The action is typically expressed directly or with prepositions like "about").

Related Idioms

(Note: There are no common idioms directly using the verb "interrogate." The concept is typically expressed directly.)

Verb

1. pose a series of questions to
   • The suspect was questioned by the police
   • We questioned the survivor about the details of the explosion
2. transmit (a signal) for setting off an appropriate response, as in telecommunication