| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| question |
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| SYLLABICATION: | ques·tion |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  kw s ch n |
| NOUN: | 1a. An expression of inquiry that invites or calls for a reply. b. An interrogative sentence, phrase, or gesture. 2. A subject or point open to controversy; an issue. 3. A difficult matter; a problem: a question of ethics. 4. A point or subject under discussion or consideration. 5a. A proposition brought up for consideration by an assembly. b. The act of bringing a proposal to vote. 6. Uncertainty; doubt: There is no question about the validity of the enterprise. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: ques·tioned, ques·tion·ing, ques·tions
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To put a question to. See synonyms at ask. 2. To examine (a witness, for example) by questioning; interrogate. 3. To express doubt about; dispute. 4. To analyze; examine. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To ask questions. | | IDIOMS: | in question Under consideration or discussion. out of the question Not worth considering; impossible: Starting over is out of the question. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old French, legal inquiry, from Latin quaesti , quaestin-, from *quaestus, obsolete past participle of quaerere, to ask, seek. | | OTHER FORMS: | question·er —NOUN
question·ing·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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