questioning
ques·tion·ing/ˈkwɛs.t͡ʃə.nɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
questioning is spelled Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N-I-N-G: 11 letters and 3 syllables (ques·tion·ing). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, questioning means “The action of asking questions; a survey; an inquiry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of questioning is questionings.
How many letters and syllables are in questioning?
| Letters | 11: Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ques·tion·ing |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is questioning?
Questioning appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 questioning?
- /ˈkwɛs.t͡ʃə.nɪŋ/
- /ˈkwɛs.tjə.nɪŋ/
- /ˈkwɛʃ.t͡ʃə.nɪŋ/
Questioning has 3 syllables, split ques·tion·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-questioning.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of questioning
- questionings plural
- more questioning comparative
- most questioning superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does questioning mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The action of asking questions; a survey; an inquiry.
- 2
The act of challenging, wondering, and doubting.
- 3
Interrogation.
adjective
- 1
Characterized by questions, inquisitiveness, doubt, or wonder; quizzical.
Why do you have a questioning look? Are you puzzled about something?
- 2
Unsure of one's sexual orientation or gender identity.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of question
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Questioning in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense action of asking questions; a survey or inquiry:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Befragung |
| Spanish | preguntadera, pregunteo, preguntorio, cuestionamiento |
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 questioning come from?
From question + -ing (noun via Middle English questionyng).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).