1. A severe interrogation (often violating the rights or privacy of individuals)
   "The suspect endured an inquisition that lasted for hours"

1. A former tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church (1232-1820) established to discover, suppress, and punish heresy
   "The Spanish Inquisition was particularly notorious"

Derived forms: inquisitions

Type of: court, examination, interrogation, interrogatory, judicature, tribunal

Encyclopedia: Inquisition, Canonical