interrogate
/ɪnˈtɛɹəɡeɪt/verb
interrogate is spelled I-N-T-E-R-R-O-G-A-T-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, interrogate means “To question or quiz, especially in a thorough or aggressive manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in interrogate?
| Letters | 11: I-N-T-E-R-R-O-G-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is interrogate?
Interrogate appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce interrogate?
- UK /ɪnˈtɛɹəɡeɪt/
- US /ɪnˈtɛɹəɡeɪt/
- Australia /ɪnˈteɹəɡæɪt/
Interrogate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-interrogate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of interrogate
- interrogates present, singular, he/she/it
- interrogating participle, present
- interrogated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does interrogate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To question or quiz, especially in a thorough or aggressive manner.
The police interrogated the suspect at some length before they let him go.
- 2
To query (something); to request information from (something).
to interrogate a database
- 3
To examine (something) critically.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Interrogate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to question or quiz:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | interroger |
| German | verhören, vernehmen |
| Portuguese | interrogar, questionar |
| Spanish | interrogar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does interrogate come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin interrogātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin interrogō (“to inquire, interrogate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).