Basic Details
Word: Investigation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A careful search for facts to find out the truth about something.
Synonyms: inquiry, probe, examination, study
How to Spell Investigation
Syllables: in - ves - ti - ga - tion
Tricky part: The vowel after v is e (vest), and the one after s is i. Investigate drops its e before ion, so the end is gation.
Watch out for: investegation, invastigation, investigasion
Memory tip: There is a vest in investigation: in-VEST-i-ga-tion. Picture a detective in a vest hunting for clues.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The police began an investigation into the theft at the jewellery shop.
Example 2: Our science project was an investigation of how salt affects plant growth.
Example 3: After a long investigation, a faulty wire was found to have caused the fire.
Fun Fact
India's Central Bureau of Investigation, the CBI, was set up in 1963.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
inve_ti_ation
a) z,g
b) s,j
c) s,g
d) c,g
Show answer
c) s,g. Vest gives the s, and investigate gives the g.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to investigation as used in the sentence:
The headmistress ordered an investigation after twenty books went missing from the library.
a) celebration
b) ceremony
c) inquiry
d) decision
Show answer
c) inquiry. An investigation is a search for facts, and so is an inquiry.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. invastigation 2. information 3. observation 4. imagination
a) a careful search for facts
b) facts about something
c) the ability to form pictures in the mind
d) the act of watching something carefully
Show answer
a) a careful search for facts. Invastigation has the wrong vowel; the word has vest in it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who usually leads a criminal investigation?
a) a tailor
b) a postman
c) a florist
d) the police
Show answer
d) the police
2. Someone whose job is to carry out investigations is an ____.
a) instructor
b) investor
c) inventor
d) investigator
Show answer
d) investigator
