pry
Third Person
pries
Present Participle
prying
Past Tense
pried
Past Participle
pried
1
to ask personal or unwanted questions
- Nosy neighbors may pry into the affairs of others, seeking gossip.
- Journalists sometimes pry into the personal lives of public figures to uncover scandals.
- It is considered impolite to pry into someone's financial situation without their consent.
- The curious coworker should avoid prying into a colleague's personal issues.
- True friends respect boundaries and don't pry when someone is not ready to share.
Synonyms:
2
to apply force in an attempt to open, separate, or move something
transitive
- They used a stick to pry the lid off the crate, which was nailed down tightly.
- The workers pried the old nails out of the wooden planks to salvage them.
- She had to pry the phone from his hands, as he was refusing to let go.
- The storm pried the branches off the tree, scattering them across the yard.
3
to look at something with great curiosity or interest, especially when it involves something private or hidden
- I noticed him prying at the letters on my desk, clearly trying to figure out what I was doing.
- She caught him prying through her drawers, looking for something he had no right to touch.
- He would often pry into the contents of other people’s bags, wondering what they were hiding.
- She didn't mean to pry, but she couldn’t resist looking at the letter on the table.
- The child pried into his sister's diary, eager to know her secrets.
4
to obtain something, especially information, with effort or difficulty
transitive
- She had to pry the truth out of him, as he was hesitant to share any details.
- The detective pried the confession out of the suspect, using clever questions and pressure.
- He felt guilty for having to pry personal details out of his friends, but it was necessary.
- He had to pry the contract out of the company’s legal team, who were reluctant to share it.