INQUISITOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

• INQUISITOR (noun)
  The noun INQUISITOR has 2 senses:

1. a questioner who is excessively harsh

2. an official of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition

  Familiarity information: INQUISITOR used as a noun is rare.

• INQUISITOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A questioner who is excessively harsh

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

inquisitor; interrogator

Hypernyms ("inquisitor" is a kind of...):

asker; enquirer; inquirer; querier; questioner (someone who asks a question)

Derivation:

inquisitorial (especially indicating a form of prosecution in which proceedings are secret and the accused is questioned by a prosecutor who acts also as the judge)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An official of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Inquisitor" is a kind of...):

functionary; official (a worker who holds or is invested with an office)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Inquisitor"):

Grand Inquisitor (director of the court of Inquisition (especially in Spain and Portugal))

Derivation:

inquisitorial (marked by inquisitive interest; especially suggestive of an ecclesiastical inquisitor)