yes-no question

noun

A question that can only be answered by yes or no and does not allow for elaboration or detail.

“To make it clear for the jury, I will ask you a simple yes-no question. Did you enter the house on the night of the 15th?”

Similar
binary questionpolar question
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Meanings

nounyes-no question (plural yes-no questions)

plural yes-no questions · alternative yes/no question · alternative yes-or-no question

  1. A question that can only be answered by yes or no and does not allow for elaboration or detail.

    To make it clear for the jury, I will ask you a simple yes-no question. Did you enter the house on the night of the 15th?

    Synonyms: binary question, polar question

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA question that can only be answered by yes or no and does not allow for elaboration or detail.

Similar
binary questionpolar question
Also see
binary questionpolar question

Translations

Ancient Greek ἐρώτημα
  • ἐρώτημα (erṓtēma)type of question
Chinese Mandarin 一般疑問句 /一般疑问句, 是非問句 /是非问句
  • 一般疑問句 /一般疑问句 (yībān yíwènjù)type of question
  • 是非問句 /是非问句 (shìfēi wènjù)type of question
Danish ja-nej spørgsmål
  • ja-nej spørgsmåltype of question
Finnish kyllä tai ei -kysymys
  • kyllä tai ei -kysymystype of question
French question totale
  • question totaletype of question
German Ja-Nein-Frage, Entscheidungsfrage
  • Ja-Nein-Fragetype of question
  • Entscheidungsfragetype of question
Hungarian eldöntendő kérdés
  • eldöntendő kérdéstype of question
Japanese 一般疑問文
  • 一般疑問文 (ippan gimonbun)type of question
Polish pytanie rozstrzygające
  • pytanie rozstrzygającetype of question
Romanian întrebare cu da sau nu
  • întrebare cu da sau nutype of question
Russian о́бщий вопро́с, вопро́с, тре́бующий отве́та «да» и́ли «нет»
  • о́бщий вопро́с (óbščij voprós)type of question
  • вопро́с, тре́бующий отве́та «да» и́ли «нет»type of question
Spanish pregunta cerrada, pregunta de sí o no
  • pregunta cerradatype of question
  • pregunta de sí o notype of question
Swahili ndiyo-hakuna swali
  • ndiyo-hakuna swalitype of question
Turkish evet/hayır sorusu
  • evet/hayır sorusutype of question
Cite this entry
APA

yes-no question. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yes-no%20question

MLA

“yes-no question.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yes-no%20question. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yes-no question,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yes-no%20question.

Source: yes-no question on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.