Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Inclined to investigate; eager for knowledge.
- adj. Unduly curious and inquiring. See Synonyms at curious.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Addicted to inquiry or research; disposed to seek information; given to prying into matters; eagerly curious.
- Marked by inquiry; questioning; curious; hence, searching out; bringing to view.
- Synonyms Prying, etc. (see curious), inquiring.
Wiktionary
- adj. Eager to acquire knowledge.
- adj. Too curious; overly interested; nosy.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Disposed to ask questions, especially in matters which do not concern the inquirer.
- adj. Given to examination, investigation, or research; searching; curious.
- n. A person who is inquisitive; one curious in research.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. showing curiosity
- adj. inquiring or appearing to inquire
Etymologies
- Late 14th Century, from Old French: inquisitif, from Late Latin: inquisitivus, from Latin: inquisitus, past participle of inquirere, also see: inquire. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English inquisitif, from Old French, from Late Latin inquīsītīvus, from Latin inquīsītus, past participle of inquīrere, to inquire; see inquire. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“First Impression: Walter is described as an inquisitive thinker who loves reading, chess, bird watching, and other old-fashioned activities.”
“ A pause, then, "What do you call the inquisitive lump of hair with the educated nose that accompanies you?”
“Obama also made it known -- much to the chagrin of many 'inquisitive' reporters --- that the buck stops with him.”
Christine Pelosi: Can Obama's Big Tent Team of Friends and Rivals Really Deliver Change?
“As proof, he offers his observation that the natives he has met were "inquisitive" and "clever.”
Building a Better Llama, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
“I'm going to aim for "inquisitive" and hopefully get farther than that.”
“I don't quite see why any one sh'd elect to take a hand in any such doin's unless he has to," the Kentuckian resumed, after a pause; "that census business seems kind of inquisitive some way to me.”
“She looked at Mrs. Bellew, on whose face was a kind of inquisitive compassion, with eyes that had never before held hatred.”
“But the war had not reached its end when, in 1645, a little group of students were to be seen in London, men "inquisitive," says one of them,”
“At length, Father Anthony gave a kind of inquisitive, dry cough, by way of experiment, which was instantly responded to by another cough equally dry and mysterious.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘inquisitive’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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utopia
Words used in the book utopia by sir thomas more
credence, proverb, provost, dissimulation, espy, neologism, vouchsafe, liberality, weal, inquisitive, assentation, verily and 21 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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The Medley of Me
A jumble of words, sometimes contradictory, that add up to me. I'll probably be adding to this list for some time, because I'm a very complex individual. ;P
male, long-haired, big-eyed, writer, artist, guitarist, songsmith, talespinner, pilot, wannabe barnstormer, gypsy, cuddlesome and 209 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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gcherches's Words
serendipity, roadrunner, inner child, coagulant, esquire, vicissitude, idiot savant, mitigation, affirmation, affirmative, diatribe, affirmative action and 185 more...
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Wordplay
reticent, slammerkin, moonstruck, zephyr, gallivant, hullabaloo, pandemonium, equestrian, wallflower, martyr, threadbare, treacherous and 180 more...
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nail01
sentimental, eloquent, inevitable, pretentious, verbose, aptly, stoically, grandiloquent, valedictory, assiduous, exorbitant, wreaked and 154 more...
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feeling words
twitterpated, loquacious, ambiguous, pensive, sluggish, anxious, adventurous, curious, abandoned, absent-minded, abrasive, abused and 653 more...
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Daily
Daily Vocab List
lull, pious, lurid, objurgate, insurgent, lewd, patio, onus, lampoon, geisha, larceny, maim and 206 more...
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just words.
coquette, solecism, peripherally, recrudescence, viscid, turpitude, sententious, light-heeled, interminably, unflappable, palpably, solicitous and 215 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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_mark's keywords ™
words that describe me or that i am focusing on.
( personal list )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/personas--2<...satirical, dark, enigmatic, androgyny, appreciative, opinionated, inquisitive, sensitive, nonchalant, acerbic, scientific, circumspective and 220 more...
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Pleasing words
A list of miscellaneous words, fitting in no exact theme, that I happen to enjoy.
portmanteau, aesthetic, deviation, conglomerate, treachery, soluble, bildungsroman, soliloquy, irrevocable, effervescent, phrontistery, aeipathy and 180 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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rosalita's Words
ebullient, jaded, brouhaha, conundrum, gubernatorial, chicanery, inquisitive, erudite, effervescent, decadent, iridescent, jangle and 5 more...
Tweets
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