Synonyms for inquire
Definitions
- v. 1
To ask (about something).
May I inquire to whom I have the honor of speaking?
- v. 2
To make an inquiry or an investigation.
Police are already inquiring into the incident.
Related words
- Word family
- inquirer inquirist inquest inquiry inquisition inquisitive inquisitor
- Phrases
- inquire of inquire after
- Other spellings
- enquire UK
Forms
- Past participle
- inquired
e.g. inquired → asked, questioned, wondered, demanded…
Choose the right word
To inquire is merely to ask for information, and implies no authority in the one who asks.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- wonder Reading will guide us to the rich world of wonder.
- seek Hide and seek / I count to three / Winter has come
- investigate A committee was constituted to investigate prices.
- examine We dissected a frog to examine its internal organs.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| inquire | falling | |
| wonder | rising | |
| seek | steady | |
| investigate | steady | |
| examine | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- ask1
- 4 letters
- seek1
- 5 letters
- query2, frain1
- 6 letters
- search1, wonder2, demand2
- 7 letters
- explore2, examine3
- 8 letters
- question2
- 11 letters
- investigate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (query2 = 2 syllables).