What do you call somebody who asks a question and somebody who answers a question?

Question

I have exhausted the thesaurus with no real luck... any ideas?

EDIT: It is in reference to this - or any other StackExchange - site in which the question is posed by X and answer is submitted by Y.

EDIT 2: In the context of StackExchange, and the fact I need plurality (something I neglected to mention oooops), I have decided upon "Posters" and "Respondents"...

possible duplicate of How do you call who writes comments in this board? Commenter or commentator? — apaderno, Feb 17 '11 at 18:33
@kia: That odd question is about comments only, not asking and answering questions. — ShreevatsaR, Feb 17 '11 at 21:17
@slotishtype you should maybe answer your own question here with the EDIT 2 answer you chose. Yes, you are allowed to answer your own questions. — Travis Reeder, Jan 23 '15 at 00:19

score 19 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

19

Questioner/Asker, Answerer, Answerer

Noun
answerer (plural answerers)
1. a person or thing that answers or responds

Also see here: Should I prefer "asker" or "questioner" for a person who asked a question?

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

Community

1

answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:34

mplungjan

29,914

5

You can accept my answer as the answer to your question, questioner, and let me be the answerer of this question – mplungjan Feb 17 '11 at 12:47
1

Ah ha .. a witty aside...done. – slotishtype Feb 17 '11 at 12:49
+1 (snicker) Based on your answer, that should have said asker. – Tragicomic Feb 17 '11 at 12:51
hehe, got me... – mplungjan Feb 18 '11 at 20:24
Asker is the first thing that comes to my mind, but it always gets squiggly lines (spell check). If it's so intuitive to call someone who asks an asker, why didn't it become a proper word in the English (US) language? PS: So does answerer... – ADTC May 31 '16 at 09:30
But those words that stab and tear at the wounds of the soul. That's (part of) why they gave you spelling error marks when you typed them. – Henrik Erlandsson Aug 07 '19 at 18:57
@HenrikErlandsson what are you on about???? – mplungjan Aug 07 '19 at 20:58

score 17 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:27

17

May I suggest: Questioner/Respondent

answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:27

PaulRein

802

You may....I'd upvote but the system won't allow. – slotishtype Feb 17 '11 at 12:40
2

I was going to say Questioner/Questionee. Respondant seems more professional. – WernerCD Feb 17 '11 at 18:00
Gotta throw my weight behind this one. The individual words may exist, but Asker/Answerer as a pairing? No way! Give me Questioner/Respondent any day! – FumbleFingers May 20 '11 at 00:03
Respondent doesn't imply an answer given, hence is not suitable as answer to this question. It is however a response. – Paul Jul 14 '15 at 13:42
I like Questioner but not Respondent because Respondent is kind of like Defendant. It's a legal term. Responder works better. I also like Expert which someone proposed. – aparente001 Nov 15 '16 at 08:55

Abel · Answer 3 · 2011-02-17T12:37:53.790

11

You could consider Inquirer, Questioner or, for instance Interrogator. Meanings differ slightly, I'd normally go for one of the first two. The third can be used when someone asks multiple questions, i.e., interrogates someone else.

Edit: respondent has been suggested by others.

edited Feb 17 '11 at 12:37

answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:30

Abel

1,894

It's actuall in reference to this, or any stack exchange site, in which questions and posed by "questioners/posters" and answers are submitted by "respondents/answers". Trying to find the most appropriate usage though. Cheers btw. – slotishtype Feb 17 '11 at 12:41
I agree with you, inquirer is the right word. Asker is not on the Cambridge dictionary – Hola Soy Edu Feliz Navidad Mar 31 '15 at 07:48
1

I way prefer 'inquirer' to 'questioner' the latter seems to have connotations of scepticism. – dumbledad Aug 16 '23 at 15:10

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 17 '11 at 13:42

7

Sometimes they're called counselor and witness.

answered Feb 17 '11 at 13:42

Robusto

151,571

lol I love the twist on circumstance. Bravo sir. – WernerCD Feb 17 '11 at 18:00
Querent and Oracle have a similar bent. – neontapir Nov 08 '12 at 06:36

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:31

5

Asker and responder come to my mind first - these terms may be weird in your use case though, as I have a technical background.

answered Feb 17 '11 at 12:31

mafu

4,449

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 27 '12 at 21:51

Questioner and Answerer do work just fine in this context.

But other common ones, depending on context:

Questioner - asker, inquirer, querier, analyst, examiner, interrogator, investigator

I don't have any alternatives for answerer other than respondent

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 27 '12 at 22:07

3

In addition to suggested ones, you may even use interviewee and interviewer in suitable context.

answered Feb 27 '12 at 22:07

Mustafa

4,685

Asker and Askee ? – ADTC May 31 '16 at 09:33

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Nov 05 '14 at 23:43

2

I use querent for the person asking questions. In the Stack Exchange context, the folks who answer questions are experts.

answered Nov 05 '14 at 23:43

BESW

565

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Jan 05 '16 at 15:24

2

Very late update, but I believe the convention now to use OP (short for Original Poster) for the person asking the question?

answered Jan 05 '16 at 15:24

jimm101

10,753

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Feb 27 '12 at 21:51

2

Try a thesaurus: asker answerer. I like enquirer and respondent.

answered Feb 27 '12 at 21:51

Pitarou

13,861

What do you call somebody who asks a question and somebody who answers a question?

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