inquiring
inquiring — adjective
1. having or showing a strong desire to learn new things, understand how they work,
having or showing a strong desire to learn new things, understand how they work, and find answers to questions — for example, an inquiring child who takes apart a clock to see its gears, or an inquiring journalist who digs beneath the surface of a story.
Dr. Adebayo has always had an inquiring mind, reading widely beyond his own field of medicine.
collocation: inquiring mind
The toddler fixed an inquiring gaze on the butterfly, watching it move from flower to flower.
collocation: inquiring gaze
An inquiring attitude is more useful than just memorising facts when you study science.
Mei-Ling's inquiring nature led her to read every astronomy book in the school library.
The teacher encouraged an inquiring classroom environment where pupils freely asked why things happened.
- curious
more common in everyday speech; can apply to simple or casual interest
- questioning
focuses on the act of asking rather than the inner desire to learn
- probing
suggests a deeper, more intense search, sometimes unwelcome
- incurious
not interested in learning or finding out; formal
- indifferent
lacking interest or concern; broader in meaning
文法句型
inquiring + noun
用法筆記
Typically appears before nouns like 'mind', 'nature', 'attitude', 'gaze', or 'look'. Less common in everyday conversation than the word 'curious'; 'inquiring' often suggests a deeper, more active pursuit of knowledge.
常見錯誤
inquiring — verb
1. to ask someone for information, especially in a formal or official way — for exa
to ask someone for information, especially in a formal or official way — for example, inquiring about a train time at a station desk, asking whether a hotel room is available, or writing to find out if a job position is still open.
Yuki inquired about the train times at the information desk before buying her ticket.
pattern: inquire about + noun phrase
The detective inquired whether anyone had seen the blue car leave the garage that evening.
pattern: inquire + whether + clause
I am writing to inquire if there are any places still available on the summer course.
Mateo stopped at the post office to inquire about sending a package to Brazil.
A neighbour called to inquire when the road repair work would finally be finished.
文法句型
inquire + about + noun phrase
inquire + if/whether + clause
inquire + wh-word + clause
用法筆記
More formal than 'ask'. Rarely takes a direct object (❌ 'inquired him'); the thing asked about must follow a preposition ('about') or a clause word ('if', 'whether', 'when', 'where'). British English often uses the spelling 'enquire' in less formal contexts.
常見錯誤
2. to examine a situation, event, or complaint carefully in order to find out the t
to examine a situation, event, or complaint carefully in order to find out the truth or the cause of something — for example, a committee inquiring into the cause of a factory fire, or a bank inquiring into the source of a large payment.
A special committee was set up to inquire into the causes of the factory fire.
pattern: inquire into + noun phrase (formal investigation)
Sunita's job is to inquire into complaints from residents about noise and safety issues.
The insurance company is inquiring into whether the damage was caused by the storm or by poor maintenance.
After the patient's condition worsened, the hospital board inquired into what had gone wrong during the operation.
The charity asked an independent team to inquire into how the donated money had been spent.
- investigate
more common in everyday use; can be transitive (investigate something)
- probe
suggests a deep, sometimes aggressive search for hidden facts
- examine
broader; can mean careful inspection of anything, not just problems
文法句型
inquire + into + noun phrase
用法筆記
Always used with the preposition 'into' before the object. Cannot be used transitively (❌ 'inquire the accident'). The object of investigation must be a situation, event, or claim — not a person. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 is about asking for facts, while sense 2 is about systematically examining a problem.