What does interrogator mean?
An interrogator is someone who questions another person, especially a suspect, witness, or detainee in a formal investigation. The term most often describes an official employed by police, military intelligence, prison authorities, or another organization to ask systematic questions and uncover facts. In everyday use, it can sound more severe than the neutral “questioner,” because interrogation implies pressure, scrutiny, and an imbalance of control. An interrogator need not be legally or militarily trained; the word simply identifies the person doing the questioning, although its strongest associations are with criminal investigation and wartime or security work. In fiction, the word can also evoke a demanding or intimidating figure who tests a witness’s account. Together with related forms such as interrogate and interrogation, it belongs to a useful family of words concerning formal questioning, while interrogatory is commonly used for a question or questioning procedure rather than for the person.
nounA person who formally questions someone, especially a suspect, witness, or detainee, as part of an investigation.
- A person who questions another person, especially a suspect, witness, or detainee during a formal investigation.
"The interrogator asked the witness to recount the sequence of events in precise detail."
"The interrogator asked the witness to recount the sequence of events in precise detail."
"No one—not even the interrogator—could determine which of the conflicting accounts was true."
The standard plural is formed by adding -s to the singular form.
"Experienced interrogators know how to establish rapport before asking difficult questions."
An interrogator asks the questions, an interrogation is the intense session, and both descend from Latin interrogare, meaning “to question or inquire.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does interrogator come from?
The English word comes from Latin interrogator, literally “one who asks or questions,” an agent noun formed from interrogare. Latin interrogare means “to question” or “inquire” and combines inter- with quaerere, meaning “to seek.” English interrogate, interrogation, and interrogatory were developed within this same Latin-derived family.
Related word forms
How interrogator is actually used
The word is formal and most common in legal, military, prison, security, and journalistic contexts. It can carry a threatening or intimidating connotation because formal interrogation typically involves sustained, adversarial questioning; for a neutral person who asks questions, “questioner” is usually preferable.
Easily confused with interrogator
An interrogator is a person who questions someone, whereas an interrogatory is usually a question or a form of questioning intended to elicit information.