Inquisitive

a. [Fr. inquisitif, Sp. inquisitivo.] Apt to ask questions; addicted to inquiry; inclined to seek information by questions, discussion, investigation, or observation; given to research. “A young, inquisitive, and sprightly genius.” Watts.

Synonyms—Inquiring; prying; curious.—INQUISITIVE, CURIOUS, PRYING. Curious denotes a feeling, and inquisitive a habit. We are curious when we desire to learn something new; we are inquisitive when we set ourselves to gain it by inquiry or research. Prying implies inquisitiveness when carried to an extreme, and is more commonly used in a bad sense, as indicating a desire to penetrate into the secrets of others.

Ah, curiosity, first cause of all our ill, And yet the plague which most torments us still! Stirling.

This folio of four pages, happy work! Which not even critics criticise; that holds Inquisitive attention, while I read, Fast bound in chains of silence, which the fair, Though eloquent themselves, yet fear to break. Cowper.

Nor need we with a prying eye survey The distant skies, to find the Milky Way. Creech.

n. A person who is inquisitive; one curious in research. [Obs.] Sir W. Temple.