1
general::
noun sentence, etc. that asks sth ADJ. pointed, probing, searching He became embarrassed when a journalist asked him pointed questions about his finances. | awkward, difficult, embarrassing, tricky | personal | academic, hypothetical, rhetorical | leading, loaded The judge told him not to ask the witness leading questions. | good, pertinent, relevant | simple | daft, inane, silly, stupid | direct, straight I wanted to find out how old he was without asking him a direct question. | exam, multiple choice, quiz, test VERB + QUESTION ask (sb) | have Have any of the audience got questions for our speaker? | address, put I'd like to put a question to the first speaker. | bombard sb with, fire The children bombarded us with questions. The interview panel fired questions at me from all angles. | frame, phrase I need to phrase my question rather carefully. | face | answer, reply to, respond to | do (used only about written questions) I couldn't do Question 6. | field The chairperson fielded technical questions that she could not answer herself. | evade, parry He skilfully parried all the interviewer's most probing questions. PREP. ~ about She refused to answer questions about her private life. | ~ as to Don't be afraid to ask questions as to why things are done in the way they are. | ~ concerning/regarding/relating to The former minister faced questions concerning his role in the affair. issue ADJ. burning, challenging, controversial, difficult, unanswerable, vexed We come now to the vexed question of pension rights. | crucial, fundamental, important, key | delicate, sensitive | economic, ethical, political, etc. VERB + QUESTION bring up, pose, raise The new play poses some challenging questions. | consider, discuss, examine | address, deal with, face, tackle | answer, decide, find a solution to | come to QUESTION + VERB arise | remain unanswered Only one question remains unanswered. PREP. ~ about fundamental questions about the nature of our society | ~ for one of the crucial questions for the jury | ~ of questions of national security Now it's just a question of getting the wording of the statement right. doubt VERB + QUESTION come into | call into It does call into question the decision to send troops into the area. | be open to The government's handling of the whole affair remains open to question. PREP. beyond ~ Her loyalty is beyond question. | in ~ His sincerity is not in question. | without ~ It was, without question, the worst day of my life. | ~ about There is no question about her enthusiasm for the job. | ~ as to I did have some questions as to his motive in coming., verb ADV. closely, further PREP. about She was closely questioned about her whereabouts on the night of the murder. | in connection with A man is being questioned in connection with the robbery. | on He was questioned on his role in the affair.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
question
verbs
ask (somebody) a question
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
have a question
(= want to ask a question )
• I just have one question: is the treatment effective?
pose a question
formal (= ask a question )
• He poses the question, ‘What should we teach our children?’
put a question to somebody
(= ask a question in a formal situation )
• I recently put some of these questions to a psychologist.
answer a question
• You haven’t answered my question.
avoid/evade/dodge a question
(= not give a direct answer )
• He had skilfully evaded Margie’s questions.
set a question
(= invent a question for a test )
• He used to set the questions for a TV quiz show.
rephrase a question
(= ask it in a different way )
• He didn’t answer, so I rephrased my question.
bombard somebody with questions
(= ask someone a lot of questions )
• They bombarded him with questions about the case.
field questions
(= answer a lot of questions )
• He fielded questions from reporters about the announcement.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + question
difficult/hard
• Some of the questions in the last section were very difficult.
easy
• These questions should be easy for you.
a good question
(= interesting or difficult to answer )
• That’s a good question.
a stupid/silly question
(= one whose answer is obvious )
• Did you win, or is that a stupid question?
an awkward question
(= one that someone does not want to answer )
• How can we keep the press from asking awkward questions?
a tricky/tough question
(= one that is difficult to answer )
• That’s a really tricky question.
an embarrassing question
• The media began to ask embarrassing questions about MPs' expenses.
a personal question
(= a question relating to someone’s private life )
• Can I ask you a personal question?
a simple question
(= one that is easy to answer )
• All you have to do is answer the three simple questions below.
a searching/probing question
(= one designed to find things out )
• The immigration officer asked me some searching questions.
a direct question
(= one that asks for information in a very direct way )
• She was startled by the direct question.
an exam/a test question
• You have to answer twenty exam questions.
an impertinent question
(= one which you have no right to ask )
• She did not answer the maid’s impertinent question.
a rhetorical question
(= a question you ask without expecting an answer, in order to make a point )
a multiple choice question
(= where you are given a set of possible answers )
question 2
verbs
raise a question
(= bring it to people’s attention )
• This study raises several important questions.
address a question
(= start trying to deal with it )
• Two questions need to be addressed.
discuss a question
• They discussed the question of the possible use of the atomic bomb.
consider a question
• We must also consider the question of compensation.
deal with a question
• This question will be dealt with in Chapter 4.
tackle a question
(= try to deal with a difficult question )
• Who has the ability to tackle the tough questions facing the nation?
resolve a question
(= deal with it in a satisfactory way )
• We will proceed just as soon as we can resolve the question of the fee.
adjectives
an important/big question
• The book raises important questions about nationality and the role of a citizen.
a fundamental question
• Their experiences have highlighted fundamental questions of human rights.
serious questions
• The incident has raised serious questions about police conduct.
a vexed/thorny question
(= one that is hard to deal with )
• Finally, there’s the thorny question of money.
a burning question
(= an important one that needs dealing with )
• Little progress was made on the burning question of Africa’s debt.
a moral/ethical question
(= one relating to principles of what is right and wrong )
• This area of medical research poses serious ethical questions that doctors alone cannot answer.
unanswered/open
(= not dealt with )
• At this point a key question remains unanswered.
question 3
phrases
be open to question
(= not be certain or definitely true )
• Whether he will survive politically is open to question.
be beyond question
(= be definite )
• Her loyalty is beyond question.
call/bring/throw something into question
(= make people doubt it )
• He brought into question all the principles on which the Soviet system was based.
come into question
(= start to be doubted )
• The special protection given to these animals has come into question in recent years.
there’s no question
(= it is certain )
• There’s no question that they have done an outstanding job.
transnet.ir
4
general::
question
something that you ask someone, either when speaking or when writing:
• Would anyone like to ask any questions? • I’ve emailed the hotel with one or two questions.
query
especially British English a question that you ask when you are not sure you have understood something or that the information you have is correct:
• If you have any queries, please contact your travel agent. • Our staff are always available to answer customers’ queries.
inquiry
( also enquiry especially British English ) a question you ask in order to get information or find out the details about something:
• We’ve advertised the house, and we’ve already received lots of enquiries. • The police have been making some inquiries in the area.
request
a polite or formal question asking for something that you want or need:
• The bank said ‘no’ to our request for more money. • You must make your request in writing., question
to ask someone questions in order to get information about something such as a crime:
• The police questioned him for three hours before releasing him without charge. • When questioned by reporters, he denied all knowledge about the affair.
interrogate
to keep asking a lot of questions for a long time, sometimes using threats, in order to get information:
• He was interrogated by US agents about his alleged links to al-Qaeda.
interview
to ask someone questions for a newspaper, TV programme etc, or to ask someone questions to find out if they are suitable for a job, course etc:
• Did you hear him being interviewed on ‘the Today Programme’? • The woman who interviewed me offered me the job.
grill
informal to ask someone a lot of difficult questions about something, in a way that is tiring or annoying:
• She started grilling me about why I was so late coming home.
cross-examine
to ask someone a series of questions in court about their previous statements, in order to find out whether they have been telling the truth:
• The defence lawyer cross-examined the witness in order to test his evidence.
be helping police with their inquiries
British English to be questioned by the police about a crime – used especially in news reports when the police think that this person may be guilty of the crime:
• Last night, a 21-year-old woman was helping police with their inquiries.
Longman-Thesaurus