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Glite Dictionary
to pry into someone's business

to pry into someone's business

1 7.5
To try to find out private things about someone without their permission
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : meterse en los asuntos de alguien
  • She told her neighbor not to pry into her business because it was personal.
  • pry into other people's business

Examples

  • He was always eager to pry into his neighbors' business, which made everyone uncomfortable.

  • Don't pry into her business!

  • He always tries to pry into my business, but I never tell him anything private.

  • It's rude to pry into someone's business without their permission.

  • Why do you always pry into my business?

  • It's rude to pry into someone's business when they value their privacy.

  • You should mind your own affairs and not pry into others' matters.

Synonyms

to poke
vsto pry into someone's business
  • Informal
124 6.7

Try to find out about someone's private life

centres more on direct inquiry into private affairs rather than mere presence
to snoop
vsto pry into someone's business
89 5.7

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

involves asking or probing directly rather than acting in secret
to pry
vsto pry into someone's business
66 5.3

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

is the same intrusive inquiry but used more often as a single verb
to nose
vsto pry into someone's business
  • Informal
17 7.7

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

focuses specifically on asking into private matters rather than general meddling
to pry into
vsto pry into someone's business
  • Informal
8 7.2

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

is the same idea but presented as the general phrase used here
to poke one's nose into
vsto pry into someone's business
  • Informal
1 7.3

To try to take part in other people's business without being asked

is about asking too closely into private matters rather than general interference
to stick one's nose into
vsto pry into someone's business
  • UK
1 7.9

To get involved in other people's business without being asked

focuses more on probing private matters than general unwanted interference
to stick your nose into
vsto pry into someone's business
  • Informal
1 8.0

To get involved in other people's business when not wanted

is specifically about close inquiry into private matters rather than general meddling
to prise
vsto pry into someone's business
  • UK
9.8

Try to find out private facts about someone without permission

shares meaning but represents an alternate or older spelling variant

Antonyms

to mind your own business
  • Informal
35 5.8

Tell someone not to ask about or get involved in other people's lives

How Intrusive

to spy
132 4.4
to snoop
89 5.7
to pry into someone's business
  • Informal
1 7.5
to probe
  • Literature
35 5.1
to inquire
  • Formal
107 3.0
to ask
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

pry into someone's business infinitive
prying into someone's business present participle
pries into someone's business third person singular
pried into someone's business past
pried into someone's business past participle

Morphology

pry + into + someone's + business

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents: 'pry' denotes intrusive inquiry and 'into someone's business' refers to another person's private matters, so the overall sense — asking too closely about someone else's affairs — is predictable. This verb + prepositional-object pattern is common and has cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The idiom pry into someone's business comes from the image of using a tool to pry open a closed box or door to see what is inside. So, to pry into someone's business is like forcing your way into their private life, which is why it means 'to ask about private things'.