interpellate
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˌɪn.təɹ.ˈpɛl.eɪt/, /ɪn.ˈtɜɹ.pə.ˌleɪt/
Verb

interpellate (interpellates, present participle interpellating; past and past participle interpellated)

  1. (obsolete) To interrupt (someone) so as to inform or question (that person about something).
  2. (philosophy) To address (a person) in a way that presupposes a particular identification of them; to give (a person) an identity (which may or may not be accurate).
    • 1996, The Cambridge History of American Literature, volume 8, Poetry and criticism, 1940-1995 (edited by Sacvan Bercovitch), page 408:
      […] a Master of Ceremonies' words "Ladies and gentlemen" […] interpellates those being addressed as an audience, and one that is differentiated by gender.
    • 2002, Marianne Jørgensen, Louise J. Phillips, Discourse Analysis As Theory and Method, page 41:
      […] the question may be whether the individual should let herself be interpellated as a feminist, a Christian or a worker. Perhaps all of these possibilities seem attractive, but they point in different directions […]
    • 2009, Samia Bazzi, Arab News and Conflict: A Multidisciplinary Discourse Study:
      […] whereas the Palestinian subjects are interpellated as: the martyr... a young Palestinian... a Palestinian teenager.
  3. (transitive, chiefly, politics) To question (someone) formally concerning official or governmental policy or business.
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