prying
[ prahy-ing ]
/ ˈpraɪ ɪŋ /
adjective
that pries; looking or searching curiously.
impertinently or unnecessarily curious or inquisitive.
synonym study for prying
2. See
curious.
OTHER WORDS FROM prying
pry·ing·ly, adverb pry·ing·ness, noun un·pry·ing, adjectiveWords nearby prying
Definition for prying (2 of 5)
Definition for prying (3 of 5)
pry
1
[ prahy ]
/ praɪ /
verb (used without object), pried, pry·ing.
to inquire impertinently or unnecessarily into something: to pry into the personal affairs of others.
to look closely or curiously; peer; peep.
noun, plural pries.
an impertinently inquisitive person.
an act of prying.
Origin of pry
1
1275–1325; Middle English
pryen,
prien < ?
Definition for prying (4 of 5)
pry
2
[ prahy ]
/ praɪ /
verb (used with object), pried, pry·ing.
to move, raise, or open by leverage.
to get, separate, or ferret out with difficulty: to pry a secret out of someone; We finally pried them away from the TV.
noun, plural pries.
a tool, as a crowbar, for raising, moving, or opening something by leverage.
the leverage exerted.
Origin of pry
2
1800–10; back formation from
prize3, taken as a plural noun or 3rd person singular verb
Definition for prying (5 of 5)
pree
or prie
[ pree ]
/ pri /
noun
a test, trial, or taste; a test by sampling.
verb (used with object), preed, pree·ing.
to try, test, or taste.
Origin of pree
1690–1700; shortened form of
preive, Middle English
preve (noun),
preven (v.) < Old French
pr(o)eve, preuver; see
prove
Example sentences from the Web for prying
British Dictionary definitions for prying (1 of 2)
pry
1
/ (praɪ) /
verb pries, prying or pried
(intr often foll by into)
to make an impertinent or uninvited inquiry (about a private matter, topic, etc)
noun plural pries
the act of prying
a person who pries
Word Origin for pry
C14: of unknown origin
British Dictionary definitions for prying (2 of 2)
pry
2
/ (praɪ) /
verb pries, prying or pried
to force open by levering
US and Canadian
to extract or obtain with difficulty
they had to pry the news out of him
Equivalent term (in Britain and other countries):
prise
Word Origin for pry
C14: of unknown origin