inquisitor

[in-kwiz-i-ter] /ɪnˈkwɪz ɪ tər/
noun
1.
a person who makes an inquisition.
2.
a questioner, especially an unduly curious or harsh one.
3.
a person who investigates in an official capacity.
4.
a member of the Inquisition.
Origin
1495-1505; < Latin inquīsītor, equivalent to inquīsī-, variant stem of inquīrere to inquire + -tor -tor
Can be confused
inquirer, inquisitor.
Examples from the web for inquisitor
  • He's determined to neither offend his inquisitor nor give away an iota of personal information.
  • She was giving her children a bath, but she stopped to play hostess to yet another foreign inquisitor.
  • If a fact is undisputed, a judge accepts it, and does not become an inquisitor to conduct his or her own investigation.
  • The husband who has a higher home is not an inquisitor.
British Dictionary definitions for inquisitor

inquisitor

/ɪnˈkwɪzɪtə/
noun
1.
a person who inquires, esp deeply, searchingly, or ruthlessly
2.
(often capital) an official of the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition
Word Origin and History for inquisitor
n.

c.1400, from Old French inquisiteur (c.1400) or directly from Latin inquisitor "searcher, examiner," in law, "an investigator, collector of evidence," agent noun from Latin inquirere (see inquire). As the title of an officer of the Inquisition, from 1540s. Related: Inquisitorial.