inquisitive

inquisitive — 形容詞

1. eager to learn about many different things or to find out details about other pe

1.形容詞B2
釋義

好奇的

對事物充滿求知慾，可能帶有愛打聽的含義

eager to learn about many different things or to find out details about other people's lives — this can be a positive quality, as in an inquisitive child who keeps asking questions, or a negative one, as in an inquisitive neighbour who pries into private matters.

例句

Gabriel's inquisitive nature led him to spend hours reading about the history of ancient Egypt.

Gabriel 那強烈的好奇心驅使他花了好幾個小時閱讀古埃及的歷史。

positive: inquisitive nature + purpose infinitive

The new neighbour grew tired of Dahlia's inquisitive questions about her salary and personal life.

新鄰居對 Dahlia 打聽她薪水和個人生活的問題感到十分厭煩。

negative: inquisitive questions about [private matters]

同義詞
  • curious

    more neutral and more common; does not carry the negative 'nosy' implication by default

  • nosy

    informal and always negative; refers specifically to prying into others' private lives

  • inquiring

    formal and positive; suggests serious intellectual curiosity, never nosiness

  • prying

    always negative; focuses on the act of intrusively seeking private information

反義詞

文法句型

inquisitive + noun (attributive)

be/seem + inquisitive (predicative)

用法筆記

The word can carry either a positive or a negative connotation depending on context. A positive inquisitive person has a genuine thirst for knowledge; a negative one is nosy and asks about matters that are not their concern. In formal writing the word tends toward the positive (an inquisitive mind), while in everyday speech about people's behaviour it can feel critical (an inquisitive neighbour).

常見錯誤

❌My little sister is very inquisitive about my private diary.' (implies nosiness is welcome)
✅My little sister is very curious about the world around her.
💡Use 'curious' for neutral/positive interest and 'inquisitive' when a hint of prying or excessive questioning fits the context.