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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in yanking
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interfering
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
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.
—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
New Atlas, 10 Feb. 2026
Video showed customs officers prying open a crate to find the rock, its surface grey and rugged.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Temporarily, staying at Wood Farm allows scrutiny of Andrew to play out behind closed doors, away from prying eyes.
—Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Crockett and her supporters are prying open fissures that will scar whichever candidate emerges.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
While Jones could be a potential asset still in play, the Bulls’ interest in maintaining a larger presence due to the recent success of two-big lineups could dissuade any deals from prying the center away from the Bulls.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 30 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, 17 Jan. 2026
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
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.
—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
Noun
Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
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.
—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
Verb
The Guesthouse Under the Reed Roof answers this with a central concrete block that contains the bathroom, positioning it safely away from prying eyes.
—New Atlas, 10 Feb. 2026
Video showed customs officers prying open a crate to find the rock, its surface grey and rugged.
—CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Temporarily, staying at Wood Farm allows scrutiny of Andrew to play out behind closed doors, away from prying eyes.
—Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Crockett and her supporters are prying open fissures that will scar whichever candidate emerges.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
While Jones could be a potential asset still in play, the Bulls’ interest in maintaining a larger presence due to the recent success of two-big lineups could dissuade any deals from prying the center away from the Bulls.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 30 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, 17 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prying
Adjective
-
Bezos’ move to scale back coverage in the opinion section and install a more centrist, Trump-curious crop of editors and writers frustrated the paper’s remaining readers.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
His official title is senior defensive assistant, a curious change for a coach who has spent a lifetime on offense around a head-coaching stint with the Giants.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This left a critical unit short-staffed during one of the highest profile searches in PCSD history and during the busiest time of year for Search and Rescue.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
-
February is typically a busy month there for winter sports including skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Potential jurors expressed a range of opinions on social media during jury selection questioning, with some appearing concerned about the companies’ impact on society, their children and their older parents.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Her questioning of him and his answers led her to connect Disney to secret, massive land purchases in Orange and Osceola counties.—
Roger Simmons,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
There, Arco finds an inquisitive ally in Iris (Romy Fay), a girl his age, but with a different experience growing up.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Caretakers describe him as social, inquisitive and highly intelligent.—
Duante Beddingfield,
Freep.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Her interrogation style is scary to say the least.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The movie’s opening scene is a tense interrogation by Landa of a farmer who is hiding a Jewish family under the floorboards.—
William Earl,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Beyond the Guthrie situation, darker flashes of geopolitical tension kept surfacing throughout the broadcast like intrusive thoughts.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The service The hotel service is impeccable and friendly, never intrusive nor stuffy, and is above all very efficient.—
Maddalena Fossati,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
London’s Metropolitan Police earlier this week opened a criminal inquiry into files suggesting Mandelson accepted money from Epstein and passed him confidential financial information while serving as a government minister 15 years ago.—
Peter Weber,
TheWeek,
5 Feb. 2026
-
An Alberta public inquiry found that the cash to support pipeline opposition flowed to Canadian environmental activist groups through American charities, obscuring the identity of the donors.—
Rachel Marsden,
Hartford Courant,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Elmarie Wendel's character, Mamie Dubcek, the Solomons’ loud, nosy and surprisingly big-hearted landlady, was a fan-favorite.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
31 Jan. 2026
-
From the outside looking in, nosy folks sight couples who scored a seat on the river-facing side—and in real time, perhaps, all falling more in love with each other.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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