1
as in curious
interested in what is not one's own business
as we moved into our new home, we could sense that there were prying eyes watching us
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2
as in busy
thrusting oneself where one is not welcome or invited
prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business
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as in questioning
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1
as in pulling
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
it took some effort to pry up the trap door
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2
as in yanking
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
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as in interfering
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of prying
Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
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, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Adjective
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying -- and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
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, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prying
Adjective
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There’s simply no other platform that converts curious passersby to diehards so well.Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 17 Jan. 2025
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His attempts to find the hotel’s exit only pull him deeper inside, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.Leo Barraclough, Variety, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in just over a week, the returning commander in chief has scheduled a busy weekend of meetings with House Republicans to discuss policy priorities for the incoming administration.Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Jan. 2025
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Not many pieces require such heroics: the reality is that fact checkers are busy people, who traffic only occasionally in the dark arts of deep research.Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2025
Noun
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After several hours of questioning, Woodward was not charged and allowed to leave.Doc Louallen, ABC News, 3 Jan. 2025
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Circuit Judge Alberto Milian cut short Llorente’s questioning about that accuser.Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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An inquisitive, adventurous spirit appears to be the special sauce as long as it’s channeled and catalyzed in a healthy way.Wes Moss, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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The subject, a rescue rat named Buttons, showcases his inquisitive nature peering from a flower pot.Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Later, he’s locked in an interrogation room and connected to lie detectors, being questioned by a character played by Krys Marshall, and nudged to lie about his feelings by another (Sarah Shahi) — who claims to have a message from Cal himself.Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 16 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement California Cops lie to suspects during interrogations.Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Its browser extension and desktop application work together to shield your activity from trackers, block intrusive ads, and bypass geographic content restrictions.New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Jan. 2025
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It is characterized by intrusive symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts related to the trauma, along with emotional distress when exposed to reminders of the event.James Bickerton, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The inquiries led to the resignation of his police commissioner, first deputy mayor, deputy mayor for public safety, education chancellor, a senior adviser and the mayor’s chief adviser — who was herself indicted on state charges last month.William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
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Representatives for the district attorney’s office did not respond to inquiries about that case this week.James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Netflix’s dark comedy, in which Lavin plays Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano’s nosy neighbor, marked Feldman’s second collaboration with Lavin following her work as a consulting producer on Lavin’s 2017 sitcom 9JKL.Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 29 Dec. 2024
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Even Greg the realtor (Matt Rogers) comes out smiling with an increasingly lucrative commission from the Morgans, and the nosy neighbor Phyllis (Linda Lavin, for whom Feldman specifically wrote the role) has plenty to gossip about with a slew of new neighbors.Hunter Ingram, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near prying
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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