Questionee

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who is the target of inquiries or interviews
2. Someone who receives and answers questions posed by another person
3. A respondent who provides information in response to questions asked

Etymology: "Questionee" is a plain formation: it combines "question" with the suffix "-ee," which in English denotes the person who receives an action. The pattern runs through words like "employee" (one who is employed), "interviewee" (one who is interviewed) and "trustee" (one who is entrusted). Those words came into English from Anglo-French, and "-ee" was the French past-participle ending "-é" that had become a noun marker, so the suffix carries the sense of someone on the receiving end of a verb. Attaching "-ee" to "question" gives a word meaning the person who is questioned, and so the person who answers. The formation is a modern one that follows the existing pattern rather than a word with an older pedigree, and it is most often used in survey, research and legal contexts where the difference between the questioner and the respondent needs to be made clear.

Synonyms: respondent, interviewee, subject, witness, participant

Antonyms: questioner, interviewer, examiner, inquisitor