What does "inquisitive" mean?

Eager to acquire knowledge; acquisitive.

What is a synonym for "inquisitive"?

Common synonyms include: curious, agog, inquiring, acquisitive, agape, all agog.

Pronounced //ɪŋˈkwɪzətɪv//.

//ɪŋˈkwɪzətɪv// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Adjective

1
Eager to acquire knowledge; acquisitive.
"[…] a young, inquiſitive and ſprightly Genius; […]"
2
Too curious; overly interested; nosy.
"A wiſe man is not inquiſitive about things impertinent; […]"

Adjective

"You are too inquisitive about other people's affairs."

Late 14th century, from Old French inquisitif, from Late Latin inquisitivus, from Latin inquisitus, past participle of inquirere. See also inquire.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.