Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use investigative in a sentence

27 example sentences · adjective

Investigative means of or pertaining to investigation or an investigation. Example: “The Times published the investigative piece about the governor both in print and online.”

Examples of investigative by meaning

adjectiveOf or pertaining to investigation or an investigation.

  • RAIB prides itself on being able to send any of its inspectors to site with sufficient investigative skills and technical knowledge to gather evidence for any type of accident.2021 December 29, Paul Stephen, “Rail's accident investigators”, in RAIL, number 947, page 32

More sentences with investigative

  • The Times published the investigative piece about the governor both in print and online.From the entry publish
  • Some newspapers are afraid to do hard-hitting investigative journalism. But this newspaper doesn't run from a fight.From the entry newspaper
  • I managed to carve out a niche for myself in the world of investigative journalism.From the entry niche
  • The freelance investigative reporter made a career of digging up dirt on celebrities for tabloids.From the entry dig up dirt
  • Alt-weeklies are known for their investigative journalism.From the entry alt-weekly
  • Investigative journalist Jim Hougan accurately described Bellino as a "zero-cool, behind-the-scenes figure in the Kennedy organization."1998, Gus Russo, Live by the Sword, page 242. From the entry zero-cool
  • “A lot of it is – award winning investigative shoe leather journalism! – but not all of it.”2024 December 29, Ed Simon, “Belt’s Top Stories of 2024”, in Belt Magazine. From the entry shoe leather journalism
  • He then shot himself dead, Russia's investigative committee said.2018 October 17, “Crimea attack: Gun attack at Kerch college kills 19”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 17 Oct 2018. From the entry Vladislav
  • Cruickshank has faced a series of lawsuits as a result of his no-holes-barred brand of often libellous or unfounded investigative journalism.2009 March 2, George Binning, “Welcome to Digger land”, in Glasgow Guardian Archive, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2025. From the entry no holes barred
  • As for my field, my B.A. from New Jersey State was interdisciplinary: adoxographic American cultural history combined with investigative folklore anthropology.2007, Matt Ruff, Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, →ISBN, page 241. From the entry adoxographic
  • An investigative reporter we know always talks about the JDLR factor— if it Just Doesn't Look Right, it's probably not.2000, Reva Basch, Mary Ellen Bates, Researching Online For Dummies, page 308. From the entry JDLR
  • The other one third is covered by a crack team of investigative reporters led by a crusty old bureau chief.1979, New West - Volume 4, Issues 14-20, page 11. From the entry undertoad
  • Knowing that he was out on the line searching in the best tradition of investigative reporting lent a sense of security.1979 December 8, Jonathan H. Malone, “An Anchor Point”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 20, page 4. From the entry anchor point
  • “Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.2026 February 19, Andy Rose, “With no initial DNA match, Guthrie investigators turn to one of their newest tools to crack cases: genetic…. From the entry genealogy
  • “Based on our initial investigative work, we believe reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated, police said in an August 28 statement.2024 September 11, Caitlin Stephen Hu, Rafael Romo and Belisa Morillo, “How an empty apartment complex in Colorado became a national…. From the entry aurora
  • The infodemiology method was used to identify investigative reports and news stories dealing with the outbreak that appeared on authoritative media outlets worldwide.2019, Ronald M. Baecker, Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives, page 105. From the entry infodemiology
  • Because of the movie’s focus on the digging and dot-connecting that go into investigative reporting, it has invited comparisons to “All the President’s Men.”2015 November 4, Frank Bruni, “The Catholic Church’s Sins Are Ours”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company…. From the entry dot-connecting
  • Those were the kinds of story elements that any network would pay big bucks for, that any investigative journalist worth her salt would kill for.2010 March, Wendy Wax, Magnolia Wednesdays, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 400. From the entry worth one's salt
  • The incident, which happened on August 5, came to light after officers leaked footage from the station's CCTV camera to a high-profile lawyer and a popular investigative TV show.2021 August 25, SCMP Reporter, “Death of Thai man after police extortion attempt captured on viral video, sparks public anger”, in This…. From the entry high-profile
  • Congress has asked the Government Accountability Office, its investigative arm, to review the workplace complaints raised by air marshals, said Charles Young, a spokesman for the office.2018 April 25, Ron Nixon, “Scandals and Investigations, but Few Arrests, for Air Marshals Program”, in The New York Times. From the entry arm
  • The project, which won an investigative award from the Associated Press Sports Editors, demonstrates the importance of onlin research and data analysis to complement shoe-leather reporting.2008, Melvin Mencher, Melvin Mencher's news reporting and writing, McGraw Hill Education, →ISBN, page 81. From the entry shoe-leather reporting
  • Often, the job will throw you a curly problem that will cause the unprepared to fail, so it is best to prepare an investigative plan before starting work.2005, Chris Cooper, Behind the Private Eye: The Private Investigator's Secrets, →ISBN, page 176. From the entry curly
  • In the course of three intensive days in and around Guiyu's four villages, the small investigative team witnessed firsthand what passes for recycling of e-waste in Asia.2002, Jim Puckett, 5:35 from the start, in Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia, spoken by Mary Ryan, Basel Action Network, →OCLC. From the entry firsthand
  • Our youthful cyberflâneurs are not limited by geography in making their connections on the web to the ‘branded web’; as investigative activists, they stray where they may.2001, Jane Kenway, Elizabeth Bullen, editors, Consuming Children: Education, Entertainment, Advertising, Buckingham; Philadelphia: Open…. From the entry cyberflâneur
  • Although Radium City clearly belongs to a tradition of investigative, muckraking journalism, the film exhibits none of the preachiness or self-righteousness that often accompanies such forays.1988 February 5, Jonathan Rosenbaum, “Process of Illumination”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry preachiness
  • At least one white supremacist group has reportedly encouraged ghost skins to seek positions in law enforcement for the capability of alerting skinhead crews of pending investigative action against them.2006 October 17, “White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement”, in Federal Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Assessment, page 5. From the entry ghost skin

Meaning of investigative

  1. adjective Of or pertaining to investigation or an investigation.
  2. adjective Inquisitive; curious.

Full definition of investigative

Questions about investigative in a sentence

How do you use investigative in a sentence?
Investigative is used as an adjective. For example: “The Times published the investigative piece about the governor both in print and online.”
What is a short sentence with investigative?
“Alt-weeklies are known for their investigative journalism.”
What does investigative mean?
Investigative means of or pertaining to investigation or an investigation.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: investigative (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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