question

Meaning

Noun

1. A worded or expressed sentence, phrase, or only a word on its own, which asks for information, a reply, or a response; an interrogative.
2. A subject or topic for consideration or investigation.
3. A doubt or challenge about the truth, accuracy, or validity of a matter.
4. A proposal to a meeting as a topic for deliberation.
5. (archaic, historical, with-definite-article) Interrogation by torture.
6. (obsolete) Talk; conversation; speech.

Verb

1. (transitive) To ask questions of; to interrogate; to ask for information.
2. (transitive) To raise doubts about; have doubts about.
3. (intransitive) To ask a question or questions; inquire or seek to know; examine.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To argue; to converse; to dispute.

Synonyms

ask

interrogate

inquire

query

inquiry

problem

doubt

interrogation

enquire

issue

matter

investigate

enquiry

examine

quiz

interrogative

request

dispute

interview

subject

contest

interrogatory

suspicion

demand

puzzle

distrust

interrogative sentence

wonder

riddle

grill

call into question

topic

point

motion

ask a question

trouble

challenge

uncertainty

inquiring

case

suspect

scepticism

scrutinize

study

protest

petition

ask for

consult

ask about

appeal

Translations

question

❓

Frage

❓

pregunta

❓

domanda

❓

interroger

❓

vraag

❓

pergunta

❓

interrogare

interrogar

questão

❓

befragen

❓

demander

cuestión

interrogar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkwɛst͡ʃən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: question

Cognate with Middle Low German: quēstie

Cognate with Middle High German: questje

Inherited from Middle English: questionen

In summary

From Middle English questioun, from Anglo-Norman questiun, from Old French question, from Latin quaestiōnem, accusative of quaestiō (“a seeking, investigation, inquiry, question”), from quaerere (“to seek, ask, inquire”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”).
Partially displaced native Old English āscung. Compare also Middle Low German quēstie (“questioning; inquiry”), Middle High German questje (“question”).
Cognates include English quest.

Sentences

The boy mumbled an answer that allowed him to avoid responding to her question .