INQUISITIVE Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'inquisitive' contrast with its synonyms?

The words curious and prying are common synonyms of inquisitive . While all three words mean "interested in what is not one's personal or proper concern," inquisitive suggests impertinent and habitual curiosity and persistent quizzing. // dreaded the visits of their inquisitive relatives

Q: When can 'curious' be used instead of 'inquisitive'?

The meanings of curious and inquisitive largely overlap; however, curious , a neutral term, basically connotes an active desire to learn or to know. // children are curious about everything

Q: When would 'prying' be a good substitute for 'inquisitive'?

The words prying and inquisitive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, prying implies busy meddling and officiousness. // prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business

inquisitive

adjective

in-ˈkwi-zə-tiv

Definition of inquisitive next

as in curious

interested in what is not one's own business an inquisitive woman who tends to everybody's business but her own

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How does the adjective inquisitive contrast with its synonyms?

The words curious and prying are common synonyms of inquisitive. While all three words mean "interested in what is not one's personal or proper concern," inquisitive suggests impertinent and habitual curiosity and persistent quizzing.

dreaded the visits of their inquisitive relatives

When can curious be used instead of inquisitive?

The meanings of curious and inquisitive largely overlap; however, curious, a neutral term, basically connotes an active desire to learn or to know.

children are curious about everything

When would prying be a good substitute for inquisitive?

The words prying and inquisitive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, prying implies busy meddling and officiousness.

prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of inquisitive The inquisitive student was not a student at all, but a woman from Philadelphia named Bonnie Raines. —

Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026 Scrub jays are very smart and inquisitive, and the jay’s interest in your house might just be curiosity over the new structure. —

Joan Morris, Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2026 Written and illustrated by Lisa Horstman On a camping trip with her parents in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an inquisitive girl slips out of her tent to explore after dark and stumbles upon the lively scene of a salamander ball. —

Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2026 Thrud is precocious, inquisitive, curious, and fearless, with a natural yearning for knowledge. —

Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inquisitive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inquisitive

curious

Adjective

In the following chapters of Quand j’étais photographe, Nadar plays on the rhetorical and material slipperiness of invention to craft a curious portrait of photography’s first fifty-odd years.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026
After a series of historical reissues, this curious release gives us Sonic Youth in something of present tense.

— Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork, 27 Apr. 2026