as in skeptical
inclined to doubt or question claims
a naturally questioning person, she demands rock-solid proof before she believes anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in challenging
to demand proof of the truth or rightness of
the teenager openly questioned the authority of the town's police force to impose a curfew on residents under the age of 18
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pondering
to give serious and careful thought to
question your motives before you file the lawsuit: do you really care about the trees, or are you just trying to harass the neighbors?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in doubting
to have no trust or confidence in
it was apparent that voters were questioning the President's ability to manage the economy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in asking
to put a question or questions to
the press should be allowed to question public officials about any matter of general interest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in interrogating
to put a series of questions to
the police questioned the suspect before deciding that there was insufficient evidence to hold him
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in inquiry
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of questioning
Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
There’s a lot of questioning of why?
—Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Dana Afana, Freep.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Greeley told the outlet that the agents restrained her, placing her hands behind her back and securing them with zip ties, before questioning her for about an hour.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for questioning
Adjective
The questioning will stop once an applicant has either answered 12 questions correctly, meeting the passing threshold, or answered 9 questions incorrectly, therefore failing the test.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
There’s a lot of questioning of why?
—Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
Kinloch fired back, questioning for whom the affordable houses were made.
—Dana Afana, Freep.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Greeley told the outlet that the agents restrained her, placing her hands behind her back and securing them with zip ties, before questioning her for about an hour.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for questioning
Recent Examples of Synonyms for questioning
Adjective
-
Without the guardrails and protections provided by traditional banks, who are beholden to regulators and the federal government, disaster can ensue, according to Milgram, who has long been skeptical of the private credit market.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Jeremy Davies also returns as their father, Terrence, at first skeptical as all parents are in these things but then finding his own emotional hook to give dad some real human emotion as the mystery deepens regarding his wife’s death.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
What Happens Next The Justice Department is expected to appeal Cummings’ ruling to the Seventh Circuit, challenging his authority to threaten contempt against federal agents.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Her transgender son is a plaintiff in a 2022 lawsuit challenging the state’s bathroom ban.—
Jennifer Smith Richards,
ProPublica,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Forest owner has been pondering his options That is not unusual — the Greek shipping magnate always likes to have a plan B in place.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
That’s 16 days of public silence and private plotting — 16 days of preparing for a case management conference and pondering motions and strategizing for the discovery process and delving into every facet of this year-long case that has no end in sight.—
Jon Wilner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But a few setbacks eventually have Kiki doubting her magical ability, until a time of crisis forces her into action and reveals her true strengths.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Many are doubting his ability as the team's starting shortstop and are calling for a change.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Post-pandemic demand and chronic underbuilding in the area have left buyers competing fiercely, often bidding tens of thousands above asking.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The listing notes West was initially asking $16,995,000, but does not disclose a final sale price.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The story is wall-to-wall clichés, with the playable bits serving as flashbacks to catch audiences up to the present, where the Marines are interrogating a shady government official about how the world went FUBAR.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Instead of letting our legs carry us aimlessly down the road with our minds interrogating every step, our thumbs pose too simple a question to which our smartphones are pleased to give us too simple an answer.—
Paul Greenberg,
Time,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The inquiry followed a media report alleging Umland touched the tops of a student’s breasts during the trip while applying sunburn treatment in a hotel room, the agency’s records show.—
Danielle DuClos,
jsonline.com,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The company’s new parental controls come after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into several tech companies, including Meta, over how AI chatbots could potentially harm children and teenagers.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Throw away anything that looks suspicious.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Journalists tend to be the type of people who run toward suspicious scenes.—
Joan Meiners,
AZCentral.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Questioning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/questioning. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share