inquiry

Forms

Plural: inquiries

Definitions

1.The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
- Yet in that February there were still some flutters of song, one of which was, Hey for the Lass wi' a Tocher, written in answer to Thomson's beseeching inquiry if he was never to hear from him again.
2.A search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; inquest.

Frequency

Overall

Uncommon· #3586

By learning goal

Everyday conversation: Rare
General reading & writing: Uncommon
Academic: Uncommon
Literature: Rare

Related words

Antonyms

answer

Synonyms

research

Etymology

From Middle English enquery, from the Old French verb enquerre, from Latin inquīrō, composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“to seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”).