inquisitive

C2+ Topic:Education & Learning

US /ɪnˈkwɪzətɪv/ UK /ɪnˈkwɪzɪtɪv/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
eager for knowledge; curious, sometimes unduly prying

The inquisitive child kept asking why the sky changed color at dusk.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · eager for knowledge;... curious prying inquiring probingnosyquestioning

Opposites

incurious indifferent uninterested apathetic

Word family

Forms inquisitivelyinquisitiveness

Derived forms inquisitivelyinquisitiveness

Related forms inquire inquiry inquisition query question

Etymology

From Old French inquisitif, from Late Latin inquisitivus, from Latin inquirere ('to seek into'), from in- ('into') + quaerere ('to seek, ask').

in- Latin quaerere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning Word Formation & Derivatives

# inquisitive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈkwɪzətɪv
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈkwɪzɪtɪv

## Meanings
1. eager for knowledge; curious, sometimes unduly prying

## Examples
- The inquisitive child kept asking why the sky changed color at dusk.

## Synonyms
- curious
- prying
- inquiring
- probing
- nosy
- questioning

## Antonyms
- incurious
- indifferent
- uninterested
- apathetic

## Derived Forms
- inquisitively
- inquisitiveness

## Related Forms
- inquire
- inquiry
- inquisition
- query
- question

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: in-
- Root: quaerere

## Etymology
From Old French inquisitif, from Late Latin inquisitivus, from Latin inquirere ('to seek into'), from in- ('into') + quaerere ('to seek, ask').

## AI Etymology
inquisitive comes from Old French inquisitif, from Late Latin inquisitivus, from Latin inquirere ('to seek into'), from in- ('into') + quaerere ('to seek, ask'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the adjective sense is "eager for knowledge; curious, sometimes unduly prying", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as inquire, inquiry, inquisition, and query, and in derivatives such as inquisitively and inquisitiveness. Its semantic neighborhood includes curious, prying, inquiring, and probing, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin in- and Latin quaerere.

## Topics
- Education & Learning
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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