Inquisitively

With an eager, questioning wish to understand more.

Reach for it when describing curiosity that is attentive rather than intrusive

Oren examined the unfamiliar seed pod inquisitively before opening his field guide.

• everyday

  curiously

  interest in discovering the answer is the main feeling

  not when Curiously can also mean strangely and may be ambiguous.

• everyday

  questioningly

  a look or tone silently asks for explanation

  not when Questioningly can signal doubt rather than eager learning.

• professional

  attentively

  careful listening or observation matters more than questions

  not when Attentively does not establish curiosity.

• formal

  inquiringly

  deliberate investigation suits the sentence

  not when Inquiringly is uncommon and may sound stiff.

• literary

  wonderingly

  awe and open surprise color the curiosity

  not when Wonderingly is too dreamy for systematic investigation.

• indifferently
• incuriously
• dismissively

• look inquisitively

  The child began to look inquisitively at the gears beneath the clock.

• ask inquisitively

  She would ask inquisitively without interrupting the speaker's train of thought.

• peer inquisitively

  Two fox cubs peer inquisitively from behind the fallen trunk.

• Inquisitive adj.
• Inquisitiveness n.

• Merriam-Webster, adverb sense 1: in an inquisitive manner ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.