Meaning & use
nosier
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“nosier” is a form of “nosy”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapprovinginformal
More interested in other people's private affairs than one should be; comparative of nosy.
Grammar: Used to compare two people or things: She is nosier than her sister. The superlative is 'nosiest'.
Patterns
- nosier than someone
- the nosier of the two
My neighbor is nosier than anyone I know—she always asks where I'm going.
He became nosier after he retired, constantly checking on the neighbors.
Which of the two reporters is nosier?
Word forms
| positive | nosy |
|---|---|
| superlative | nosiest |
Common combinations
- nosier than
- She's nosier than her husband about our finances.
- a nosier neighbor
- We moved to a quieter street with nosier neighbors, unfortunately.
- get nosier
- As the news spread, the reporters got nosier.
Synonyms and how they differ
- more inquisitive
- Inquisitive can be neutral or positive, suggesting a healthy curiosity, while nosier is always disapproving.
- more prying
- Prying emphasizes unwanted meddling in private matters, often more strongly negative than nosier.
- more meddlesome
- Meddlesome suggests actually interfering, not just asking questions, so it is stronger than nosier.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nosier or noisy? nosier or nosey?
nosier vs noisy
Noisy means making a lot of sound; nosy means prying into others' business. They sound similar but are unrelated.
nosier vs nosey
This is an alternative spelling of 'nosy'; both are accepted, but 'nosy' is more common in American English.
Practice
After her divorce, her relatives became even ______ about her dating life.
Choose one answer.
The sentence compares her relatives' behavior before and after, so the comparative 'nosier' is correct. 'Nosy' is the base form, 'nosiest' is superlative, and 'nosily' is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nosier”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.