Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who meddles or pries into the affairs of others.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A meddling person; one who officiously or impertinently concerns himself with the affairs of others.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who officiously concerns himself with the affairs of others; a meddling person.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Someone who
interferes with others; one who isnosy ,intrusive ormeddlesome .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who meddles in the affairs of others
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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If one is called a busybody, it is a negative character assessment.
Lynn Casteel Harper: The Elimination Of Busy: The Spiritual Discipline Of Being Present Lynn Casteel Harper 2011
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If one is called a busybody, it is a negative character assessment.
Lynn Casteel Harper: The Elimination Of Busy: The Spiritual Discipline Of Being Present Lynn Casteel Harper 2011
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If one is called a busybody, it is a negative character assessment.
Lynn Casteel Harper: The Elimination Of Busy: The Spiritual Discipline Of Being Present Lynn Casteel Harper 2011
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If one is called a busybody, it is a negative character assessment.
Lynn Casteel Harper: The Elimination Of Busy: The Spiritual Discipline Of Being Present Lynn Casteel Harper 2011
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Regarding the mother of my neighbour, apparently, the busybody is actually living in her daughter’s house and the daughter, who has lived here for many years, knows the rules and has been more than happy to report other people who have had guests staying longer than they should.
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Though he is too great and important to be called a busybody, we still feel sympathetically something of the suppressed irritation and sense of hindrance and interruption with which the lords must have regarded this companion with his "devout imaginations," whom they dared not neglect, and who was sure to get the better in every argument, generally by reason, but at all events by the innate force of his persistence and daring.
Royal Edinburgh Her Saints, Kings, Prophets and Poets George Reid 1862
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I see "busybody" syndrome isn't just an affliction of estadounidenses.
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Considering that, except for those for whom it has religious component, the pros and cons seem about equally balanced - it strikes me as a "busybody" issue.
Just a little off the top, thanks Douglas Hoffman 2005
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The principle of the periscope is the same as that of the "busybody," familiar to householders, and which is placed on the sill of an upper window, so that a person inside the house may see who is at the front door.
Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights Kelly Miller 1901
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People are freely choosing not to have as many kids as previous generations; to argue that they are making the wrong decision seems like exactly the kind of busybody interference into private lives that libertarians normally deplore.
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