A suggestive question is a question that implies a certain answer. It persuades the person questioned to answer a certain way despite their actual views.
Often, suggestive questions rely on negative statements or assumptions made by words. For example, the phrase "Didn't you think this was wrong?" instead of "Did you think this was wrong?" is a suggestive question. They both mean the same, but the former is likely to make the person questioned feel guilty and answer "yes." Assumptions made by words can be seen in suggestive questions involving observations: For example, the phrase "Did you see the dog?" instead of "Did you see a dog?" will make people think there was a dog.
Categories: [Rhetoric]