Spanish Conversation · Level 92
60 words
Spanish word
interrogar
Pronunciation
IPA/interoˈɣaɾ/
Meaning
- verbinterrogate
Example
En la comisaría, los agentes interrogan a los testigos por separado.
At the police station, the officers interrogate the witnesses separately.
More examples
La periodista interrogó al ministro sobre el escándalo.
The journalist interrogated the minister about the scandal.
Core concept
A detective asking repeated, pointed questions to a witness.
Common phrases
interrogar a un testigo
interrogate a witness
interrogar a un sospechoso
interrogate a suspect
interrogar a un detenido
interrogate a detainee
Similar words
preguntar: Asking a question to obtain information or a straightforward answer from someone.
cuestionar: Expressing doubt about someone's statements or actions and pressing them with probing questions.
Definition in Spanish
Preguntar de forma formal y a veces insistente a una persona para obtener información o esclarecer hechos, sobre todo en ámbitos policiales o judiciales.
Word origin
Latin interrogare, made of inter- 'between' and rogare 'ask', gives the verb a back-and-forth probing sense used to extract information.
Usage tips
- Interrogar typically takes a person as its object and commonly appears in reports as the passive 'ser interrogado' when saying that someone was questioned.
Other meanings
- questionverb
- pressverb
Opposites
- responderanswerverb
Related words
- interrogaciónquestioningnoun
- interrogatoriointerrogationnoun
- interrogadorinterrogatornoun