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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For all of Elon Musk’s ventures—the cars, the rockets, the tunnels, the brain-machine interfaces, the satellite Internet services, the federal government departments with funny names—a private preschool might be the most curious.BYAndrew Nusca, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024
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Dive Into Local Experiences With Curiosity Keep a curious mind—approach each culture as a new story to uncover.Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The busy news cycle will quickly move on from Insurance-Fraud Bear, and soon this whole ordeal will fade from our collective memory, much like the many silly bear stories of yesteryear.Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 18 Nov. 2024
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Instead of visiting the range on a noisy, busy Saturday, go after work or to a private range.Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Marty Makary became a GOP favorite for his questioning of COVID restrictions.Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 22 Nov. 2024
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Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.Thomas Beaumont, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Still, Riklis fashions a number of memorable and intimate sequences between Nafisi and her female students, when Nafisi quits her job at the university and decides to teach literature in secret to a group of inquisitive women.Tomris Laffly, Variety, 25 Oct. 2024
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John Eatwell, a veteran British economist who was then a first-year faculty member at Cambridge, recalled that Harris was inquisitive, technically adept, and up to date on the latest literature on both sides of the Atlantic.John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Amid interrogations about production levels and stockpile health, Replicator promises to set the pace for cheap, fast, proliferated weapons.Colin Demarest, Axios, 20 Nov. 2024
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In interrogation, the sisters might have remembered their father’s tactic: focus on a point in the wall and zone out.Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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People with higher risk scores can then be subject to what welfare recipients across the bloc have described as stressful and intrusive investigations, which can also involve their welfare payments being suspended.Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 16 Oct. 2024
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For Sullivan, the intrusive thoughts only picked up steam with age.Erica Sloan, SELF, 2 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The government had completed or started work on 28 recommendations from the inquiry, the prime minister said, and will provide its full response early next year.Reuters, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
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The inquiry found that Wang had relationships with students and had influenced tenure decisions, per the Times.Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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But while Agatha herself has graduated from nosy neighbor to main character, Hahn still carries the part with brisk ease.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2024
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Most recently, Rossellini appears as a nosy nun in Edward Berger’s buzzy awards favorite Conclave.Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near prying
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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