Inquisitor

//ɪnˈkwɪzətəɹ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who inquires, especially searchingly or ruthlessly.

    "During the meeting, Jake turned into an inquisitor, firing questions at the presenter non-stop."

  2. 2
    a questioner who is excessively harsh wordnet
  3. 3
    An official of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition. historical
  4. 4
    an official of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
askerbusybodycatechistcross-interrogatorcross-questionerdetective

Example

More examples

"In the 15th century the Spanish inquisitor Pedro de Arbués de Épila organized in Zaragoza a game of "living chess" with heretics to stand in as figures who were put to death when they were "captured". In 1867 Arbués was canonized by Pope Pius IX."

Etymology

From Old French inquisiteur, from Latin inquīsītor.

Related phrases

Grand Inquisitor

More for "inquisitor"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.