interrogative

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adjective

in·ter·rog·a·tive ˌin-tə-ˈrä-gə-tiv

: used in a question

: having the form or force of a question

: inquisitive, questioning

interrogatively adverb

interrogative

2 of 2

noun

: a word (such as who, what, which) or a particle (such as Latin -ne) used in asking questions

: question sense 1a

Example Sentences

Adjective “Did you go to school today?” is an interrogative sentence. an interrogative pronoun such as “who” She had an interrogative expression on her face. an interrogative tone of voice Noun though she phrased it as an interrogative, it was clear that the utterance was more of a command

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Here are nine animating, searching, and interrogative titles with which to start.

Talya Zax, The Atlantic, 26 June 2022 But Smaker is on a different mission in her searing film, the very existence of which often feels like a miracle and an interrogative act of defiance.

Tomris Laffly, Variety, 24 Jan. 2022 There’s a tendency to be interrogative or obsessive now, so instead of directing this focus at the people in your life, try to direct it into more spiritual or studious areas.

Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 27 Nov. 2020 But the new show’s other strength is its interrogative diversity.

Wesley Morris, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2020 There have been more interrogative expeditions too: traveling to Ecuador to explore the impact the oil industry was having on the rainforest and to the Brazilian Amazon on a fact finding mission related to the Belo Monte damn project.

Cnn Staff, CNN, 8 Oct. 2019 One reason that Kempowski’s interrogative prose has a strange air of detachment is that the words have indeed detached themselves from the characters.

Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2016 The movie’s superficiality perhaps embodies what Bradbury was trying to say—that TV and film are stunted, two-dimensional forms of entertainment compared to the complexity, the richness, and the interrogative nature of books.

Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 19 May 2018 Part of the role (theirs and mine) is the stylizing of language: speaking mostly in simple declarative sentences, making all discourse either expository or interrogative.

Susan Sontag, Esquire, 19 Sep. 2017

Noun

How about: to the huge, throbbing interrogative that is America at the end of 2019.

James Parker, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2019 But Zuckerberg didn’t reply to any hallway interrogatives.

Chad Pergram, Fox News, 11 Apr. 2018 Owing either to marketing efforts or issues that can only be determined in a therapy session, the signature hits of the Canadian child star’s adult career have boasted choruses as interrogatives.

Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Aug. 2017 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interrogative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.