prying – Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com
Someone who’s prying has a tendency to snoop into other people’s private business. You may notice your prying neighbor peeking through his curtains whenever you have company.
It’s human nature to be curious, but when curiosity is taken too far, it’s prying. Any crime or disaster is inevitably followed by crowds of prying reporters; and you might grow used to hiding your diary from the prying eyes of your little sister. Prying and its root, pry, come from prien, “to peer in, ” which may trace back to the Old English bepriwan, “to wink. ”
Definitions of prying
adjective
offensively curious or inquisitive
“prying eyes”
synonyms:
nosey, nosy, snoopy
curious
eager to investigate and learn or learn more (sometimes about others’ concerns)
noun
offensive inquisitiveness
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Definition of prying – Merriam-Webster
pry·ing
| \ ˈprī-iŋ
\: inquisitive in an annoying, officious, or meddlesome way
Other Words from prying
pryingly
adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for prying
curious, inquisitive, prying mean interested in what is not one’s personal or proper concern. curious, a neutral term, basically connotes an active desire to learn or to know.
children are curious about everything
inquisitive suggests impertinent and habitual curiosity and persistent quizzing.
dreaded the visits of their inquisitive relatives
prying implies busy meddling and officiousness.
prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business
Examples of prying in a Sentence
She tried to escape the prying eyes of her neighbors.
as we moved into our new home, we could sense that there were prying eyes watching us
Recent Examples on the Web
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—
Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
Eoin O’carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
Yalman Onaran,, 11 May 2017
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘prying. ‘ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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First Known Use of prying
1552, in the meaning defined above
Learn More About prying
Cite this Entry
“Prying. ” Dictionary, Merriam-Webster,. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.
Seen & Heard
People are talking about
More Definitions for prying
Kids Definition of prying: rudely nosy
prying questions
pry – Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com
To pry is to try and find something out that is none of your business. We all hate people who pry, sticking their nose into our personal affairs, and it is an annoying and disrespectful habit.
We are taught as children to ask questions, but sometimes those questions are used to pry, or peek into someone’s private business. A nosy person will peek into some else’s life the same way one might use a crowbar to pry open a crate (though — alert! — that pry has a different origin). Our word is thought to come from a word related to the Old English verb beprīwan, “to wink, ” which evolved into the Middle English prie, “to peer in, ” which gives us today’s meaning.
Definitions of pry
“Don’t
pry into my personal matters! ”
verb
search or inquire in a meddlesome way
make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry
“They
pried the information out of him”
synonyms:
prise
move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
noun
a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge
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Frequently Asked Questions about what is prying eyes
What does the prying mean?
: inquisitive in an annoying, officious, or meddlesome way.
What is the meaning of hid from prying eyes?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaway from prying eyesaway from prying eyesin private, where people cannot see what you are doing → pryExamples from the Corpusaway from prying eyes• She is finally able to relax with friends, away from prying eyes.
What pry means?
To pry is to try and find something out that is none of your business. … We are taught as children to ask questions, but sometimes those questions are used to pry, or peek into someone’s private business.