Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Enquiring for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is enquiring — an adjective, pronounced in-KWY-er-ring, written /ɪnˈkwaɪə.rɪŋ/.
Narrator: Enquiring describes someone, or something about them, that shows a lively interest in learning — a curious, questioning, open quality of mind.
Narrator: It is the present-participle form of the verb enquire, which comes from the Latin inquirere — to seek into.
Narrator: As an adjective it crystallised in English in the seventeenth century, when writers began praising the enquiring mind as a moral virtue, not just a habit.
Narrator: We talk about an enquiring mind, an enquiring look, an enquiring nature — all suggesting someone alert to questions other people ignore.
Narrator: Its register is warm and approving. To call a child enquiring is a compliment. To call a colleague enquiring suggests intellectual generosity.
Narrator: The American spelling inquiring is more common globally, but in careful British prose enquiring with an e still holds its ground.
Narrator: Remember it like this — an enquiring person is one whose mind never quite finishes reading a sentence without wanting to ask the next question.
Speaker A: Our new intern Priya is brilliant. She has such an enquiring mind — she asks three questions for every task you give her.
Speaker B: That's a lovely thing to say about someone. Enquiring is one of those words you reach for when curious feels too small.
Speaker A: Right, curious can sound almost childish. Enquiring sounds intellectually serious.
Speaker B: Exactly. You'd describe a six-year-old as curious, but you'd describe a postgrad researcher as having an enquiring mind.
Speaker A: So would inquisitive be a synonym?
Speaker B: Close, but inquisitive can carry a hint of nosiness — sticking your nose where it isn't wanted. Enquiring is purely positive.
Speaker A: Ah, that's a useful difference. And what about probing?
Speaker B: Probing is sharper, almost adversarial — a probing question can make you uncomfortable. An enquiring question simply opens a door.
Speaker A: Got it. Any common mistake?
Speaker B: Yes — people sometimes use enquiring after a noun, like she looked at me enquiring. That's wrong; you want the adverb form, she looked at me enquiringly, which we'll cover next.
Speaker A: Good catch. So — Priya has an enquiring nature that will take her far.
Speaker B: Beautifully said. Warm, professional, and entirely accurate.
Enquiring — meaning in Arabic & definition More E courses GL Dictionary