pry

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“
"I never pry -- never."

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Definitions (21)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. intransitive verb To look or inquire closely, curiously, or impertinently: was always prying into the affairs of others.
  2. noun The act of prying.
  3. noun An excessively or impertinently inquisitive person.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (5)

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Examples (50)

  • She drew a mechanical pencil from her purse, used it as a pry, and sprung two of the slats apart a slit. —  175 - The Pure Evil
  • The most common tools dealt with by law enforcement are the various burglary tools, such as pry-bars, screwdrivers, lockpicks etc. A tool will often impress its own outline, know as tool marks, into the material it comes into contact with. —  28_EvidenceCollectionAtCrimeScenes
  • Well-bred young ladies didn't pry, and they never, ever nagged. —  Garwood, Julie - Prince Charming
  • Quoyle looked around for something to pry, a screwdriver or chisel, but there was nothing but stone and [178] broken glass. —  The Shipping News
  • When Rachel wished to pry, her idea of subtlety was to end declaratory statements on an interrogatory note. —  Chase, Loretta - Knave's Wager
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This word has been looked up 119 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

inquisitive ·  meddlesome ·  officious ·  distrustful ·  watchful ·  covetous ·  inquire ·  nosy ·  intrusive ·  impertinent ·  envious ·  furtive

Used in the same contextWord Family

pry:   prying ·  pries
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English prien.
  2. Alteration of prize3.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English pryen, prien, peep, peer; supposed to be a transposed form of piren, peer: see peer. Transposition of this kind (of r in second syllable before a vowel to the first syllable before the first vowel) is peculiar; transposition as in brid to bird is in the other direction.
  2. from pry, v.
  3. apparently for prize, taken erroneously as a plural: see prize.
  4. from pry, n.
 

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/prai/
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