Meaning of question mark | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The punctuation mark "?", used at the end of a sentence to indicate a question.
2. A state of doubt or uncertainty.
   figuratively, informal
3. An enigmatic, inscrutable, or mysterious person or thing; an enigma, a riddle.
   figuratively, informal
4. Polygonia interrogationis, a North American nymphalid butterfly with a silver mark on the underside of its hindwing resembling a question mark (sense 1).

Equivalents

Examples

“Do you see⟳ this curious-looking mark⟳ in the margin? It is a little crooked mark⟳ with a dot at the bottom of it. It is a question⟳ mark⟳. It always comes at the end⟳ of questions.”

“When you come⟳ to a question⟳ mark⟳, you must stop⟳ and rest⟳. If the question⟳ may be answered by yes or no, your voice must rise⟳ on the last⟳ word before the question⟳ mark⟳.”

“As the relation of the faulted lamprophyre dike to faults 1 to 3 is not known, the intersection of the dike with these faults is shown on plate 13 with question⟳ marks.”

“Fortunately, then, this text in which the play⟳ is preserved to us is, in general, substantively good. The quarto's punctuation and lineation, however, are much less reliable than its language. The pointing is not in most respects notably worse than that in comparable publications; but the text is peppered with question⟳ marks, the printers either having spilled these among the other marks or run⟳ out of periods.”

“I would like⟳ to comment⟳ only on the question⟳ mark⟳ in the topic – and raise⟳ several questions for our discussion hidden within that question⟳ mark⟳, questions integral to the ongoing debates since [John] Calvin, integral to the "historically extended and socially embedded argument within the Reformed tradition about the very goods that constitute that tradition" (adapting Alasdair MacIntyre's description of a living tradition).”

“The waitress, [...] places my coffee beside my notebook then stops to gawp at what I've written and a deep frown forms between her unplucked eyebrows. She stares at the initials, the connecting lines, the question⟳ marks, the circles. I see⟳ them as she sees them: a load⟳ of rubbish, fanciful nonsense from a person who has watched one too many cop shows.”

“There’s a question⟳ mark⟳ over whether or not he’ll be fit for the next game.”

“Because I keep⟳ answering questions with more questions, and there are question⟳ marks between myself and other people and I can no longer keep⟳ myself from wondering why that must always be so.”

“Wherever the ambiguity in the Urfaustbook may have⟳ come⟳ from, and whether the author was fully aware of it or not, it is there: a faint, wavering question-mark at the end⟳ of an otherwise unequivocal statement that Faust was damned to all eternity in hell.”

“The Pachoutinsky brothers: Eugene, Anatol and Leon: what had become⟳ of them? had they survived the war? were they in want⟳? All one big question⟳ mark⟳ in my mind⟳.”

“It was vaguely felt that a clear perception of atomic realities would necessitate a complete⟳ intellectual revolution. Such a revolution was particularly unwelcome; it meant exchanging the certainties of conventional warfare for a vast number⟳ of question⟳ marks. The fact that it was others who possessed atomic weapons made the question⟳ marks still less attractive.”

“Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between [Andy] Carroll's double⟳ as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain⟳ that puts a serious question⟳ mark⟳ over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.”

“[W]e see⟳ that intellectual pursuits always end⟳ with question⟳ marks. The curse of learning is that it leaves us with no answers to the questions that matter⟳ the most. That's because the answers to our existential questions are not found under the sun.”

“For a while, the biggest question⟳ mark⟳ of allegiance is August Walker (Henry Cavill, subverting his man-of-steel screen presence), the brutish CIA tagalong feeding his superiors the theory that [Ethan] Hunt may really be going rogue after years of being left out in the cold by his handlers.”

“Let⟳ us admit⟳ that the Platonic dialogue is an enigma—something perplexing and to be wondered at. The Platonic dialogue is one big question⟳ mark⟳.”

“Mr. [Richard] Foreman has been the reigning philosopher vaudevillian of the New York avant-garde for three decades now, creating fractured dreamscapes in which life is the banana cream pie that keeps hitting you in the face⟳. His starting point⟳ is that the world is unknowable, self is a question⟳ mark⟳, and existence is one long chain of frustrations.”

“Those who enroll in my class are English majors seeking a license⟳ to teach⟳ at the secondary level. To most of them, middle school is a question⟳ mark⟳, unexplored territory about which they have⟳ mixed feelings.”

“Question⟳ Mark⟳ (Polygonia interrogationis). Preferred host⟳ plants are elms (Ulmus spp.), hackberry (Celtis spp.), hops (Humulus spp.), nettle (Urtica spp.), and false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica).”

“Commas (Polygonia comma) and Question⟳ Marks (Polygonia interrogationis) occur⟳ from the Gulf Coast to Canada and west to the Rockies. [...] Question⟳ Marks and Commas are handsome butterflies with burnt orange and black markings. [...] On the underside of each hind wing of the Comma is a small, distinctive silver hook that resembles a comma. The Question⟳ Mark⟳ has a small silver dot just below the hook—a question⟳ mark⟳. Any other name⟳ just wouldn't do.”

“Other members of this genus that are frequently encountered in the park⟳ are the eastern comma (P. comma) and question⟳ mark⟳ (P. interrogationis).”

CEFR level