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  1. investigate love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To observe or inquire into in detail; examine systematically.
  2. v. To make a detailed inquiry or systematic examination.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. To search into or search out; inquire into; search or examine into the particulars of; examine in detail: as, to investigate the forces of nature; to investigate the causes of natural phenomena; to investigate the conduct of an agent.
  2. Synonyms To scrutinize, overhaul, sift, probe into, explore, study.

Wiktionary

  1. v. transitive To inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
  2. v. transitive To examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
  3. v. intransitive To conduct an inquiry or examination.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To follow up step by step by patient inquiry or observation; to trace or track mentally; to search into; to inquire and examine into with care and accuracy; to find out by careful inquisition.
  2. v. To pursue a course of investigation and study; to make investigation.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. investigate scientifically
  2. v. conduct an inquiry or investigation of

Etymologies

  1. Recorded since circa 1510, a back-formation from investigation, from Latin investigatio "a searching into", from investigatus, the past participle of investigare, itself from in- "in(to)" + vestigare "to track, trace" (from vestigium "footprint, track", of unknown origin) (Wiktionary)
  2. Latin investīgāre, investīgāt- : in-, in; see in-2 + vestīgāre, to track (from vestīgium, footprint). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (12)

Words with the same meaning

  1. examine
  2. study
  1. scrutinize
  2. sift
  1. search
  2. overhaul
  1. scrutate
  2. research
  1. perscrutate
  2. indagate
  1. inquisition
  2. question

same context (19)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. impeachable
  2. investigatory
  3. seven-member
  1. silk-screened
  2. fact-finding
  3. greeuous
  1. enquiring
  2. drug-related
  3. nonmilitary
  1. negotiate
  2. obsessing
  3. kammic
  1. vice-regal
  2. pursue
  3. inter-allied
  1. common law
  2. persevering
  3. stipendiary
  1. examine

reverse dictionary (76)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. probe
  2. explore
  3. search
  4. investigate
  5. court of honor
  6. excuss
  7. evestigate
  8. inquiring
  9. insearch
  10. inspect
  11. indicate
  12. go
  13. h. waves
  14. exploring-coil
  15. geologize
  1. perscrutate
  2. uptrace
  3. biomedicine
  4. bluebeard
  5. genealogize
  6. geometrize
  7. perscrute
  8. psychologize
  9. requisitor
  10. scrutine
  11. studiously
  12. brainstorm
  13. cognosce
  14. inquisition
  15. inquisitiveness
  1. Hevesy
  2. Brockhouse
  3. troubleshoot
  4. inquisitive
  5. see
  6. a bone to pick
  7. curiosity
  8. discuss
  9. court of domestic relations
  10. Shull
  11. botanize
  12. forensics
  13. let
  14. scratch
  15. prompt
  1. superfund
  2. superfund program
  3. coroner
  4. plumber
  5. dip
  6. enter
  7. look
  8. sound
  9. study
  10. scope
  11. spy
  12. referee
  13. vestigate
  14. inscrutability
  15. look into
  1. scrutinate
  2. blue ribbon commission
  3. blue ribbon committee
  4. curious
  5. pervestigate
  6. philosophize
  7. reinvestigate
  8. report
  9. try
  10. canvass
  11. de lunatico inquirendo
  12. ravel
  13. scrutinize
  14. stock
  15. studious
  1. seismograph

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‘investigate’ has been looked up 2565 times, added to 14 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 15.