interviewer
B2Neutral to formal. Common in professional, academic, and media contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A person who asks questions in a formal meeting to assess a candidate, gather information, or conduct a media discussion.
More broadly, anyone who conducts a systematic conversation to elicit information, opinions, or personal details, including researchers, journalists, recruiters, or survey administrators.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily an agent noun derived from the verb 'interview'. The role implies a position of inquiry, control, or assessment within the conversational dynamic.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The role and context are identical.
Connotations
Neutral professional role in both varieties. In media contexts, may carry connotations of authority or scrutiny.
Frequency
Equally frequent in both dialects due to universal professional and media contexts.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
interviewer for [an organisation]interviewer with [a media outlet]interviewer of [a notable person]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “grill the interviewer (informal, reverse the dynamic)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The HR interviewer will assess your fit for the company culture.
Academic
The researcher, as interviewer, must avoid leading questions.
Everyday
My friend was the interviewer for the school's podcast.
Technical
The cognitive interviewer uses specific techniques to enhance witness recall.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The panel will interview the candidates tomorrow.
- She was interviewed for a role in the civil service.
American English
- We need to interview three more applicants.
- He's being interviewed by a major tech blog.
adjective
British English
- The interviewing panel was impressed.
- We reviewed the interviewing techniques.
American English
- She has strong interviewing skills.
- The interviewing process took two weeks.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The interviewer was very nice.
- My mum is an interviewer for a radio station.
- The interviewer asked about my previous experience.
- Prepare three questions to ask the interviewer at the end.
- A good interviewer puts the candidate at ease to get genuine responses.
- The veteran journalist is known as a tough but fair interviewer.
- The interviewer's line of questioning subtly revealed the politician's evasiveness.
- Cognitive bias in an interviewer can severely compromise the validity of qualitative data.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
INTERVIEWER: The one who VIEWS you from INTER (between) the questions.
Conceptual Metaphor
INTERVIEWER AS GATEKEEPER (controls access to a job or platform), INTERVIEWER AS MINER (extracts information).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid using 'интервьюер' for a person conducting a survey; 'опросник' or 'человек, проводящий опрос' is better.
- Do not confuse with 'собеседник' (interlocutor), which is a more general conversational partner.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'interviewer' to mean the person being interviewed (correct: interviewee).
- Misspelling as 'interviwer' or 'interveiwer'.
Practice
Quiz
In a research context, an 'interviewer effect' refers to:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The interviewer asks the questions; the interviewee answers them.
Rarely. It typically implies a structured purpose (e.g., job, research, media). For a casual chat, 'conversation partner' is better.
No, it is gender-neutral. Context specifies (e.g., 'she is the interviewer').
Active listening – the ability to ask follow-up questions based on what was said.
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