1
as in curious
interested in what is not one's own business
as we moved into our new home, we could sense that there were prying eyes watching us
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in busy
thrusting oneself where one is not welcome or invited
prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in questioning
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in pulling
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
it took some effort to pry up the trap door
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2
as in yanking
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
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as in interfering
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prying
Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
—Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
—Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Theresa Braine, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.
—Ben Coxworth
october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Other prying eyes won’t have access to the documents, either.
—Zoe Guy, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Conor McGill, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Water that seeps into small cracks or gaps around homes can freeze and expand, slowly prying open concrete, damaging driveways, sidewalks, and steps, and even compromising foundations.
—Brendel Clark, Freep.com, 16 Dec. 2025
That’s an immediate roadblock for large institutions like banks, whose clients largely don’t want their balances and payments history open to prying eyes.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025
The basic tier, Surfshark Starter, will also block those infuriating adverts that can disrupt your browsing, and will block your identity from prying eyes.
—Chris McMullen, Space.com, 28 Nov. 2025
The paparazzi lurking around set have snapped photos of the actress in a head-to-toe puffer jacket that covers her costume from prying eyes.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025
But Ezaki managed to escape three days later by prying open the door of a warehouse where he’d been held.
—Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 23 Nov. 2025
Erivo promptly sprang into action, forcefully prying Wen off of her costar.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 14 Nov. 2025
At one end of the table, Gioele Moro of the Czech Academy of Sciences is gently prying loose moths from the depths of a trap.
—Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying -- and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Noun
That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.
—Verb
Surveillance video shows two suspects arriving in a car, getting out with crowbars, and prying open the restaurant's front door.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for prying
Adjective
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The baths have reappeared after a long time spent under the water of a reservoir, and people of all ages curious about the discovery come to spend the day.—
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There is a curious absence of any patience in exploring the forces shaping their unsettlingly growing worldview.—
Adjective
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Visiting the restaurant has become an expression of the purest form of Panthers fandom — and that’s helped make this week quite busy ahead of the Panthers’ first home playoff game in 10 years.—
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Those who remain are concentrated in Venezuela’s cities, including its capital, Caracas, where the street market in the Catia neighborhood once was so busy that shoppers bumped into one another and dodged oncoming traffic.—
Noun
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Police have detained several people for questioning, but do not have a suspect in custody.—
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After all, his only experience with real-life interrogators was from the receiving end of their questioning.—
Adjective
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Tan carpeting ran up the walls and windows to keep out the sun and any inquisitive eyes.—
-
My core goal every year is always to level up as a father, husband, friend and colleague — a task made much more accomplishable by my endlessly inquisitive six-year-old daughter and phenomenal wife.—
Noun
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Former detainees and international rights groups accuse him of personally participating in or directing harsh interrogation practices, including physical and psychological mistreatment.—
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The hunt for a murder suspect uncovers a crime with shocking legal and ethical implications; Bruno must protect his squad during a raid on a suspect's home; Carisi and Price team up in court when Brady's interrogation tactics undermine the case.—
Adjective
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This is not the first time that Princess Kate has been a victim of intrusive images.—
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In the past, Mia had suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and intrusive, distressing thoughts.—
Noun
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The commission primarily opens inquiries in response to tips – and bigger investigations can often take years to complete.—
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Gemini will assess people’s purchasing intent — for example an inquiry about removing a wine stain out of a rug could lead to links for related products sold at Walmart.—
Adjective
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Like your nosiest neighbor, furniture layouts have a knack for overstaying their welcome.—
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This will keep out nosy children and pets.—
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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