Word
inquest
Phoneticsin·quest
US/ˈɪnˌkwɛst/
UK/ˈɪnkwɛst/
Definition
n. an official investigation to find out the cause of someone's death. It usually happens when the death was sudden or violent.
n. a judicial inquiry to ascertain the facts relating to an incident, most commonly a sudden or unexplained death. Often conducted by a coroner or a jury.
Examples
“The coroner opened an inquest into the fatal accident.”
“Following the discovery of the body, the local authorities ordered an inquest to determine if there was any foul play.”
“The public inquest revealed significant safety failures at the factory, leading to a complete overhaul of the regional building codes and industrial regulations.”
Examples
simple
“The coroner opened an inquest into the fatal accident.”
contextual
“Following the discovery of the body, the local authorities ordered an inquest to determine if there was any foul play.”
complex
“The public inquest revealed significant safety failures at the factory, leading to a complete overhaul of the regional building codes and industrial regulations.”
Usage
Often takes the preposition 'into' to specify the subject of the investigation.
Real-World Examples
Common in health writing
“It says an inquest, for which a date is yet to be fixed, is due to open into his death.” “The inquest into her death would also note the influence of Mallaburn (who Emily had split from by this point), of which her mother was unaware.” Etymology
From Middle English enquest, from Old French enqueste (Modern French enquête), from Vulgar Latin inquirere, or from Medieval Latin inquesta < in + Latin quaesita.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/inquest