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Definition of "inquisitorial" [in•quis•i•to•ri•al]

  • Of, relating to, or having the function of an inquisitor. (adjective)
  • Law Relating to a trial in which one party acts as both prosecutor and judge. (adjective)
  • Law Relating to a criminal proceeding conducted in secrecy. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "inquisitorial" in a sentence
  • "I think I've said before that Letten and his people have a certain inquisitorial aspect to them ..."
  • "German jurists term the inquisitorial proceeding; it became the duty of the Echevin to denounce the ‘Leumund,’ or manifest evil fame, to the secret tribunal. if the Echevins and the Freygraff were satisfied with the presentment, either from their own knowledge, or from the information of their compeer, the offender was said to be"
  • "And I listened with interest while Mr. Harland put his former college friend through a kind of inquisitorial examination as to what he had been doing and where he had been journeying since they last met."