inquiring

1. 1
   adjective

   Eager to learn or know; tending to ask questions and explore ideas.

   Her inquiring nature made her a natural fit for investigative journalism.

   He gave me an inquiring look, clearly hoping for an explanation.

   Similarcurious, inquisitive, questioning, probing, searching

   Oppositeincurious, uninterested, indifferent

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of inquire.

   He spent the morning inquiring about open positions at several firms.

   Inquiring into the cause of the delay, she called the head office.

   Note

   The verb form carries both of the verb's living constructions: inquiring about something asks a question, while inquiring into something investigates it. As a gerund it fills a noun's slot and keeps its complement, as in "inquiring into the delay took weeks." The old meaning "to call, to name" is obsolete and has no place in modern use of this form.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   An act of asking for information; an inquiry or investigation into something.

   The board's inquiring into the matter produced a detailed report.

   After much inquiring, she finally learned why the project had stalled.

   Similarinvestigation, questioning, probing, asking

   Note

   Unlike the gerund, this noun can be counted and made plural: inquirings are separate acts of asking. The plural has a literary, reflective ring. The London Mercury in 1923 scorns "vain inquirings" of the surly gods, and Gerald A. Press (2003) writes of Herodotus' "factual inquirings." In plainer prose, inquiry usually does the same work.

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