pry
[verb]
Synonyms: be inquisitive, be nosy (informal), interfere, intrude, meddle, poke, snoop (informal)

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Related Idioms: nose into
Related Words: elevate, hoist, lift, pick up, raise, rear, take up, uphold, uplift, upraise, uprear, turn, twist, disengage, disjoin, divide, separate

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English Thesaurus: interfere, meddle, intrude, butt in, pry, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pry /praɪ/ verb (past tense and past participle pried, present participle prying, third person singular pries)
[Sense 1,3: Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Origin unknown]
[Sense 2,4: Date: 1800-1900; Origin: prize 'to force up' (17-21 centuries), from prize 'lever' (14-20 centuries), from Old French prise 'act of seizing']

1. [intransitive] to try to find out details about someone else’s private life in an impolite way:
I don’t want to pry, but I need to ask you one or two questions.
pry into
reporters prying into the affairs of celebrities

2. [transitive always + adverb/preposition] especially American English to force something open, or force it away from something else Synonym : prize British English
pry something open/away/off etc
We finally managed to pry the door open with a screwdriver.

3. away from prying eyes in private, where people cannot see what you are doing
pry something out of somebody/something phrasal verb American English
to get money or information from someone with a lot of difficulty:
If you want to know his name, you’ll have to pry it out of her.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

interfere to try to get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed:
She tried not to interfere in her children’s lives.
It’s not your problem, so don’t interfere.
meddle to interfere in someone else’s affairs in a way that is annoying for them. Meddle is more informal than interfere, and has more of a feeling of being annoyed:
I did not want my parents meddling in my private affairs.
He warned diplomats against meddling in Indonesia’s affairs.
intrude to interfere by being somewhere where you are not wanted, or getting involved in a situation that is private – used especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude while you were on the phone.
When someone dies, people are often worried about intruding.
butt in informal to interfere by trying to become involved in a private situation or conversation that does not concern you:
Stop butting in, will you!
I didn’t want to give them any advice in case they thought I was butting in.
pry to try to find out what someone else is doing in their private life, by asking questions or secretly checking what they are doing, in a way that seems annoying or rude:
Journalists like to pry into the lives of the rich and famous.
I didn’t mean to pry – I just wanted to know if I could help.
poke/stick your nose into something informal to ask questions about someone else’s private life or give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them:
She’s one of those people who’s always poking her nose into other people’s business.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲