to prise

Examples

• All

• During the interview, the reporter started prising for information that the celebrity wanted to keep private.

• The detective kept prising into the suspect's past, looking for clues about the crime.

• After a year of prising out obscure connections, a job finally materialized at a small teacher's college in a suburb of Boston.

  Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

I

to inquire

vsto prise

• Formal

107 3.0

To ask someone for information about something

is intrusive and improper rather than neutral polite questioning

S

to snoop

vsto prise

89 5.7

To secretly look for someone's private information or watch them

is more about direct intrusive questioning rather than secret observation

P

to pry

vsto prise

66 5.3

Try to learn about someone's private life in an impolite way

is similar but stresses trying to obtain unwanted information improperly

N

to nose

vsto prise

• Informal

17 7.7

To try to find out private things about someone by looking or asking

is stronger, focusing on improper effort to obtain hidden information

P

to pry into

vsto prise

• Informal

8 7.2

Try to find out private things about someone in an annoying way

is the same intrusive attempt but differs in wording or form

P

to pry into someone's business

vsto prise

• Informal

1 7.5

To try to find out private things about someone without their permission

has the same improper inquiry focus but is a different expression

Antonyms

L

to leave alone

∞ 2.3

To avoid touching and disturbing a person, animal or object

How Intrusive

to intrude

105 4.4

to prise

• UK

9.8

to probe

• Literature

35 5.1

to ask

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology