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Glite Dictionary
to quest after

to quest after

8.0
To go looking for something difficult to find or get
  • phrasal verb
  • /kwɛst ˈæftər/
translation icon : buscar

Examples

  • Either that, or he was working for someone else who quested after the ring.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • "For now, young man, that I am Parsifal, and I quest after no less a thing than the Holy Grail."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Schoenberg continued his quest after Savory's death.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Many explorers have gone on a quest after knowledge in uncharted territories.

  • The team is on a quest after the perfect solution to climate change.

  • She dedicated her life to a quest after understanding the mysteries of the universe.

Synonyms

to seek
vsto quest after
∞ 1.0

Try to find or get something you want

implies a specific determined search for a difficult aim
to pursue
vsto quest after
∞ 3.5

To try to get something you want, like a job or a goal

focuses on an active chase rather than a difficult exploratory search
to go after
vsto quest after
839 2.1

Try to get something you want or follow someone to catch them

is more about searching for particularly hard to obtain goals
to hunt
vsto quest after
190 1.2

To look carefully for something or someone

leans more toward seeking difficult goals rather than careful search
to hunt down
vsto quest after
148 3.9

Search for and find someone or something after a lot of effort

emphasizes successful finding after a long or hard search
to seek out
vsto quest after
122 3.0

Look for and find a person or thing, often with effort

is about searching broadly for a hard to get objective
to quest for
vsto quest after
64 5.4

To search for something that is hard to find

is the same idea often framed with different wording
to quest
vsto quest after
5 4.8

To search for something with strong determination

focuses more on difficulty of the goal rather than adventure

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to abandon
773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

How Determined

to quest after
8.0
to pursue
∞ 3.5
to hunt
190 1.2
to seek
∞ 1.0
to try
∞ 1.0
to look for
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

quest after infinitive
quested after past
quested after past participle
questing after present participle
quests after third person singular

Morphology

quest + after

The meaning is directly compositional: 'quest' denotes a search and 'after' adds the sense of pursuing or going after something, so a learner who knows both words can infer 'to search for' or 'go in pursuit of'. This verb+preposition pattern is a transparent, cross-linguistically plausible composition rather than an idiom, making it immediately understandable.

Etymology

The verb quest after comes from old stories of knights who went on a quest, a long journey to find a treasure, and the word after shows they were chasing that thing. So, today quest after means 'to search for' something difficult to get or achieve.