A wise man is not inquisitive about things impertinent. Broome.

A young, inquisitive, and sprightly genius. I. Watts.

Syn. -- Inquiring; prying; curious; meddling; intrusive. - - Inquisitive, Curious, Prying. Curious denotes a feeling, and inquisitive a habit. We are curious when we desire to learn something new; we are inquisitive when we set ourselves to gain it by inquiry or research. Prying implies inquisitiveness, and is more commonly used in a bad sense, as indicating a desire to penetrate into the secrets of others.

[We] curious are to hear,
What happens new. Milton.

This folio of four pages [a newspaper], happy work!
Which not even critics criticise; that holds
Inquisitive attention, while I read. Cowper.

Nor need we with a prying eye survey
The distant skies, to find the Milky Way. Creech.