searchingsearch‧ing /ˈsɜːtʃɪŋ $ ˈsɜːr-/ adjective [only before noun]Examples
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
A searching question: which comes first, the music or the performing resources?
He was in his mid-thirties, tall and thin, with searching eyes and hair cropped like a Buddhist monk.
Pulling away, she struggled from the chair, from his searching hands.
Sometimes examinations, where they did take place, were not a very searching test of ability.
Collocations
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY►searching questions/investigation/examination etc
Interviewees need to be ready for some searching questions.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES►a searching/probing question
(=one designed to find things out)· The immigration officer asked me some searching questions.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN►question
· You have to ask yourselves some searching questions, particularly about the quality of your relationship prior to the present state of emergency.· You will therefore be prepared with good answers when confronted with searching questions.· While he waited he asked us a few basic and searching questions about our discovery.· Those outside the political arena believe that the Government have made a poor attempt to answer some searching questions.
Phrases
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY►searching look/glance/gaze
Crouched down beside it, Delaney took another searching glance behind him, at the lifeless, cluttered room.
Guy led Chalon back on to the road, casting another searching glance up at Isabel's closed face.
Soul searching Look no further for a hot new boy band.
The searching gaze was too much for Denis.
Word family
WORD FAMILYnounsearchresearchresearcherverbsearchresearchadjectivesearchingadverbsearchingly
1intended to find out all the facts about somethingsearching questions/investigation/examination etc Interviewees need to be ready for some searching questions.2searching look/glance/gaze a look from someone who is trying to find out as much as possible about someone else’s thoughts and feelings: She avoided his long searching look.—searchingly adverb