LEADING QUESTION Definition & Meaning

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leading question

[lee-ding]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a question so worded as to suggest the proper or desired answer.

leading question

/ ˈ��ː��ɪŋ /

noun

a question phrased in a manner that tends to suggest the desired answer, such as What do you think of the horrible effects of pollution?

leading question

An unfair question that is designed to guide the respondent: “You were drunk the night of the accident, weren't you, Mr. Norris?”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of leading question¹

First recorded in 1815–25

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Idioms and Phrases

A question worded so as to elicit particular information or a particular answer, as in When are you selling the business? This example assumes that the person is going to sell the business, an action that may not have been established or revealed. This expression originated with a specific meaning in law, that is, “a question that guides a witness toward a desired answer.” In court, this practice is called leading a witness and is forbidden. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This is a leading question, but are you frustrated to see the Democrats playing emergency politics once again in this election?

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So it’s not posing any leading questions, not expressing any judgment.

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He appeared to want to avoid graphic testimony, meandering answers and leading questions.

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Mr. Trump said the television program “should be ashamed of themselves” for asking “leading questions” and treating Mr. Biden “like a lost child.”

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Three years later, here for gigs with his jazz band, Allen answered a Times reporter’s leading question that maybe L.A.’s not such a bad place after all?

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