indagar

to investigate

verb een-dah-GAHR Rare

Origin: From Latin indagare (to track, to trace).

Also means

to inquire into

Usage Note

Indagar is more formal and methodical than investigar; it suggests careful, systematic inquiry, often used in legal, journalistic, or academic registers. The construction indagar en or indagar sobre introduces the subject of inquiry. Unlike preguntar (to ask), indagar implies a sustained, probing search for facts. It follows the -gar spelling change: indagué in the preterite (not indagé).

Examples

"La policía indagó sobre las causas del accidente."

Natural Translation

The police investigated the causes of the accident.

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