interrogator

noun in·ter·ro·ga·tor \ in-ˈter-ə-ˌgā-tər , -ˈte-rə- \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of interrogator

1 : one that interrogates

2 : a radio transmitter and receiver for sending out a signal that triggers a transponder and for receiving and displaying the reply

Recent Examples of interrogator from the Web

In his postmatch news conference on Thursday, Sampaoli could barely raise his eyes to face his interrogators.

— rory smith, New York Times, "How Argentina Lost Its Way. (Spoiler: It’s Not Messi’s Fault.)," 22 June 2018
This is called the Scharff technique, named for its developer, Hanns Scharff, a German interrogator during World War II.

— roni jacobson, Scientific American, "How to Extract a Confession...Ethically," 1 May 2015
Defense attorneys want precise details and access to interrogators, guards and medical professionals who worked in the CIA's secret prisons to discredit some confessions as the fruit of torture.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Lawyers: Scan suggests alleged 9/11 plotter suffered head injury in CIA custody | Miami Herald," 30 Apr. 2018
The suspects were subjected to mock executions and electric shock and beaten with telephone books as their interrogators flung racial epithets at them.

— aamer madhani, USA TODAY, "Judge orders release of accused Chicago cop killer while he awaits new trial," 22 June 2018
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Romania and Lithuania violated the Continent’s primary human-rights treaty by secretly holding al Qaeda suspects and failing to investigate their treatment by CIA interrogators.

— drew hinshaw, WSJ, "Romania, Lithuania Violated Human-Rights Laws by Hosting Secret Prisons," 31 May 2018
But there’s a major contrast in Act 2, when the action moves to Richard’s home and Craig turns into a relentless interrogator of his father.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "At Everyman Theatre, 'Book of Joseph' provides intriguing drama of family secrets, regrets," 18 May 2018
After several months, an interrogator began pressuring him to accept a chance to go home, ahead of other Americans—his father was a high-ranking admiral.

— amy davidson sorkin, The New Yorker, "John McCain’s Long Fight," 20 May 2018
Hashimi said Ithawi also provided banking information to Iraqi and American interrogators that has helped cut off valuable sources of funding for the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS.

— Washington Post, "A deputy to ISIS leader Baghdadi is among 5 key members captured by Iraqi forces," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interrogator.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.