Word.ws English Dictionary

inquirent

inquirent adjective: making enquiry; questioning.

Adjective

inquirent (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Making enquiry; questioning.
    • As in a garden, roves, of hues alone
      Inquirent, curious?a. 1763, William Shenstone, Economy: A Rhapsody, addressed to young poets
    • Once a very inquirent disciple by the name of Chi Lu asked about […]1939, Psychiatry - Volume 2, page 475

Noun

inquirent (plural inquirents)

  1. One who makes an enquiry; questioner.
    • The ire of the inquirents was instantly roused at this liberal interpretation; they drew their swords, and were about to rush upon the Dutchman and his friends, who were already prepared to withstand them, when Hubert interposed.1854, “Hereward of Brunne”, in Ainsworth's Magazine, page 165
    • The factors are so numerous that it is next to impossible to give comprehensive and adequate information in the pages of an ordinary letter to the inquirent.1916, Camera: A Practical Magazine for Photographers - Volume 20, page 61
  2. (more specifically) A court-appointed officer who is given the task of looking into a situation; a legal investigator.
    • The Inquirent caused her to be told that she was bound to answer his citation, under penalty of fine and imprisonment.1868, William Hepworth Dixon, Spiritual Wives - Volume 1, page 210
    • When the case was re-opened, at Count Goerlitz's repeated demand, an "Inquirent” was appointed by the Count to examine the case—that is, an official investigator of all the circumstances; and on November 2, 1847, in the morning, notice was given to the Count that the “Inquirent” would visit his...1891, Sabine Baring-Gould, Historic Oddities and Strange Events

Forms of inquirent

pluralinquirents

Origin of inquirent

From Latin inquirens.

Questions about inquirent

What does inquirent mean?
Inquirent means making enquiry; questioning.
What part of speech is inquirent?
Inquirent can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near inquirent in the dictionary

  1. inquired
  2. inquired after
  3. inquired of
  4. inquiree
  5. inquirendo
  6. inquirent
  7. inquirents
  8. inquirer
  9. inquirers
  10. inquires
  11. inquires after

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: inquirent (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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