An inquisitor is a person who is part of an inquisition, an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Inquisitors were officials, usually with judicial or investigative functions, who sought out the social networks that people used to spread heresy. They were responsible for hunting down and punishing those who were deemed to be heretics, and there were accounts where the Inquisition could not tell who was a heretic or devout, and they were killed anyway.
In modern usage, an inquisitor is someone who inquires or makes an inquiry, especially one who is unduly harsh, severe, or hostile in making an inquiry.
In the Star Wars universe, the Inquisitors are a group of dark side agents of the Galactic Empire who were tasked with hunting down the remaining Jedi throughout the galaxy following the destruction of the Jedi Order, as well as other political dissidents.
