inquest

inquest — noun

1. a formal legal hearing, usually led by a coroner and sometimes involving a jury,

1.名詞B2
釋義

a formal legal hearing, usually led by a coroner and sometimes involving a jury, that examines the facts around a sudden or suspicious death to determine how the person died.

例句

After the factory fire, the coroner opened an inquest into the deaths of three workers.

collocation: open an inquest into + noun

The inquest jury heard that the old bridge collapsed because of rusted steel cables.

同義詞
  • inquiry

    a broader term — inquiry can be any systematic search for information, not necessarily a formal legal process about a death

  • investigation

    more general — used by police, journalists, or officials without the specific legal framework of an inquest

  • post-mortem

    refers to the medical examination of the body, which may be part of an inquest but is not the hearing itself

文法句型

hold/open an inquest

inquest into/on + noun

常見錯誤

❌The doctor performed an inquest on the patient.
✅The coroner held an inquest into the patient's death.
💡An inquest is a legal hearing, not a medical procedure; only a coroner or official body can hold one.

2. a critical discussion or examination of the reasons behind a significant failure

2.名詞C1
釋義

a critical discussion or examination of the reasons behind a significant failure, especially in sports, business, or politics, to identify what went wrong.

例句

After ten straight losses, the coach called for an inquest into the team's poor performance.

figurative use: call for an inquest — review after a failure

The company held a private inquest into why their new product had sold so poorly.

同義詞
  • review

    less dramatic and less formal — review can be routine, while inquest suggests serious failure

  • post-mortem

    also a figurative extension; very similar in tone and use, common in tech and business

  • debriefing

    focuses on gathering information after an event rather than assigning blame

文法句型

inquest into + noun

hold an inquest

demand an inquest

用法筆記

Frequently used figuratively in sports, business, and political contexts. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not refer to a legal proceeding; it is a metaphorical extension of the legal term.

常見錯誤

❌The losing team held an inquest with the referee after the match.
✅The losing team held an inquest into their own poor performance.
💡An inquest examines the team's own failings, not a dispute with an outside party.