questioning
1 of 2noun
ques·tion·ing ˈkwes-chə-niŋ 
ˈkwesh-
plural questionings
: the activity or process of asking questions
Illocutionary acts … such as stating, questioning, promising, or commanding.
Ronald Wardhaugh
Ronald Wardhaugh… serious questionings of the relation between art and life … J. Dennis Huston
J. Dennis HustonHer folks and very pregnant sister met us at the restaurant, and it didn't take long for me to warm up to them. After sweating through a few rounds of questioning, I felt a little more at ease … Cosmopolitan
CosmopolitanThe time had also passed for any further questioning about what genes were. The name of the game was DNA. James D. Watson et al.
James D. Watson et al. often : judicial interrogation
As she continued her questioning, she found herself pounding the witness stand, her voice rising in accusation until it was a scream. Carol Lynn Mithers
Carol Lynn Mithers The FBI has seized your computers and brought you in for questioning. Graham P. Collins
Graham P. Collins CNN made a disconcerting habit of breaking away for commercials without regard to what was happening in the court—often in the middle of a line of questioning. David Hiltbrand
David Hiltbrand questioning
2 of 2adjective
1
: expressing or implying a question
a questioning look
… looking at her with a questioning and rather startled gaze. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle2
: inclined to ask questions or seek information : inquisitive
The changes of direction are partly explained by this questioning attitude, and partly by his having written the book over twenty years. Sarah Bakewell
Sarah BakewellFor a man with as questioning a mind as Charles Darwin's there was no danger of mental vegetation. Ronald W. Clark
Ronald W. Clark3
: uncertain about or engaged in exploring one's own sexual or gender identity
Suburban Connecticut's first support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youths had just begun, and Alex was proving how desperately it was needed. Dan Woog
Dan WoogFacebook provides more than 50 options beyond "male" and "female" for users to describe their gender identity, from "gender questioning" and "neither" to "androgynous." Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune questioningly adverb
I stared questioningly at Mama, not really understanding. Mildred D. Taylor
Mildred D. Taylor The bartender came over and looked questioningly at Julie. "I'll have a Scotch sour on the rocks," she said. Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker 
Synonyms
Adjective
- disbelieving
- distrustful
- doubting
- incredulous
- mistrustful
- negativistic
- show-me
- skeptical
- suspecting
- suspicious
- unbelieving
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing questioning
questioningly
adverb
as in quizzically
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- quizzically
- incredulously
- hesitantly
- hesitatingly
- unbelievingly
- doubtfully
- askance
- skeptically
- doubtingly
- distrustfully
- suspiciously
- warily
- dubiously
- reproachfully
- askant
- reprovingly
- disapprovingly
- guardedly
- apprehensively
- uneasily
- sideways
- mistrustfully
- anxiously
- critically
- charily
- disparagingly
- negatively
- cynically
- deprecatingly
- unfavorably
- uncomfortably
- captiously
- reproachingly
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- approvingly
- trustingly
- positively
- confidently
- favorably
- trustfully
- unquestioningly
- uncritically
- sanguinely
- credulously
- starchness
- starchy
- stardom
- stardoms
- stardust
- stardusts
- stare
- stare (someone) in the eye(s)
- stare (someone) in the face
- stare at
- stare at (someone)
- stare at someone
- stare daggers
- stare daggers at
- stare decisis
- stare down
- stare in the eye
- stare in the eyes
- stare in the face
- stare into space
- stare off into space
- stare one in the face
- stare out
- stare someone in the eye
- stare someone in the eyes