inquisitorial

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"inquisitorial" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“inquisitorial” is uncommon English (frequency #92,728 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,728
frequency rank, English
17,902
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to an inquisition, specifically the Inquisition.

Key facts for inquisitorial
PropertyValue
Headwordinquisitorial
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#92,728
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “inquisitorial” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). inquisitorial lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

inquisitorial is uncommon English at frequency #92,728 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

inquisitorial has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From inquisitory + -ial. The correct English form is inquisitorial, spelled I-N-Q-U-I-S-I-T-O-R-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to an inquisition, specifically the Inquisition.
  2. 2
    In a manner of inquisition or inquisitors.
  3. 3
    Describing a trial system in which the prosecutor also acts as judge.

Etymology

From inquisitory + -ial.

This word in other languages

inquisitorial(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "inquisitorial"?
"inquisitorial" is spelled I-N-Q-U-I-S-I-T-O-R-I-A-L.
What does "inquisitorial" mean?
As an adjective, "inquisitorial" means: Of or pertaining to an inquisition, specifically the Inquisition.
What is the origin of the word "inquisitorial"?
From inquisitory + -ial. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “inquisitorial”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is I-N-Q-U-I-S-I-T-O-R-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list