Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Enquiringly for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is enquiringly — an adverb, pronounced in-KWY-er-ring-lee, written /ɪnˈkwaɪə.rɪŋ.li/.
Narrator: To do something enquiringly is to do it in a way that signals curiosity — usually with the eyes, the voice, or a tilt of the head that quietly asks a question without words.
Narrator: It is the adverbial form of enquiring, which traces back through Old French to the Latin inquirere — to seek into.
Narrator: The adverb is a workhorse of English literature. You will find it in nineteenth-century novels, where a character looks enquiringly at another across a drawing room, and you know exactly what is being asked.
Narrator: Its register is slightly literary and very precise. We rarely say it aloud, but writers love it because it captures the silent question that often sits between two people.
Narrator: Its meaning is almost always physical — to look enquiringly, to glance enquiringly, to raise an eyebrow enquiringly.
Narrator: Remember it like this — enquiringly is the small adverb that lets your eyes speak before your mouth does.
Speaker A: I love that moment in old detective novels where the inspector glances enquiringly at his sergeant and the whole room goes quiet.
Speaker B: Yes, enquiringly is one of those wonderfully old-fashioned adverbs that does so much with so little.
Speaker A: I noticed last night that my dog looks at me enquiringly every time I open the fridge.
Speaker B: That's the perfect use. The whole question — what's in there, is any of it for me — is contained in one look.
Speaker A: It's almost always paired with verbs of looking, isn't it?
Speaker B: Exactly — to look, to glance, to gaze, to peer, occasionally to murmur or to say something enquiringly. It modifies how a small, gentle act is performed.
Speaker A: Is questioningly a synonym?
Speaker B: Very close. Questioningly is slightly more direct, even a bit doubtful. Enquiringly is softer, more curious, less confrontational.
Speaker A: And what about quizzically?
Speaker B: Quizzically adds a touch of amused puzzlement — like, what on earth are you doing. Enquiringly is purely curious, with no judgement.
Speaker A: Got it. Any common mistake?
Speaker B: Yes — people sometimes drop the -ly and write she looked enquiring at him. That's wrong. With a verb you always need the adverb form, enquiringly.
Speaker A: So — she raised an eyebrow enquiringly as he tried to sneak past the kitchen.
Speaker B: Perfect. Cinematic, precise, and exactly the kind of sentence the word was made for.
Enquiringly — meaning in Arabic & definition More E courses GL Dictionary