pry1
/prʌɪ
/verb (pries, prying, pried) [no object]
Enquire too inquisitively into a person’s private affairs: I’m sick of you prying into my personal life...
- Not for the first time he attempts to personalise the issue by prying into my private affairs.
- At the same time, the French media is slowly but surely prying into the private lives of the politicians - slowly but surely exposing more details about what goes on behind the closed doors of the country's rulers.
- She didn't want to feel like she was prying into Keira's private life by going through her cupboard, but she thought that she'd be doing the girl a favour by cleaning it out.
Synonyms
enquire impertinently into, investigate impertinently, be inquisitive about, be curious about, poke about/around in, ferret (about/around) in, delve into, eavesdrop on, listen in on;
mind someone else's business, be a busybody, tap someone's phone;
spy on, interfere in, meddle in, intrude on;
scrutinize, probe
informal stick/poke one's nose in/into, be nosy (about), nose into, snoop about/around/round in
Australian/New Zealand informal stickybeak
inquisitive, curious, busybody, probing, spying, eavesdropping, impertinent, interfering, meddling, meddlesome, intrusive
informal nosy, snooping, snoopy
Scottish & Northern English nebby
rare busy
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'peer inquisitively'): of unknown origin.
Rhymes
pry2
/prʌɪ/verb (pries, prying, pried) chiefly North American
Another term for prise. prying open the door he pried his left leg free...
- My idle hands proceeded to pound, wrench, twist, pry, and yank at anything I could get a hold on.
- My ears strained toward the sirens and my heart pounded as the officers used a crowbar to pry away the door.
- I knocked lightly on the door, hoping to pry Angela out of the restroom.
Origin
Early 19th century: from the verb prise, interpreted as pries, third person singular of the present tense.