inquisition
inquisition Lexical Profile
inquisition Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A period of prolonged, intensive, and often harsh questioning or investigation.
"The committee's review of the budget quickly turned into a hostile inquisition of the department head."
An ecclesiastical tribunal formerly established by the Roman Catholic Church across parts of Europe to discover, investigate, and suppress heresy.
"Galileo was summoned before the Roman Inquisition to defend his support of heliocentrism."
A formal judicial or official inquiry held before a jury, or the official findings and record resulting from such an inquiry.
"Medieval royal commissioners conducted an inquisition into land tenure across the county."
Word Nuance & Usage
While "inquiry" and "inquest" refer to neutral or official investigations, "inquisition" carries strong negative connotations of ruthless, intrusive, or prejudiced questioning due to its association with historical ecclesiastical tribunals.
• Rhymes for inquisition
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Old French from Latin "inquisitio" ('a searching or inquiring into'), from the verb "inquirere" ('to seek after, search into'), combining "in-" ('into') and "quaerere" ('to ask, seek').