✅ Curious is the best word to describe being nosy, and wanting to know about things that aren’t your business (My colleague was curious about my new car).

✅ Meddlesome is the best word to describe actively inserting yourself into things that aren’t your business (a meddlesome aunt).

✅ Meddlesome suggests intrusiveness, and involving yourself in things without being asked (My meddlesome cousin ruined the event).

✅ Curious, however, has less of a negative connotation, suggesting a desire to know, but not necessarily engage intrusively (He was curious about my vacation but afraid to ask me directly).

Try using meddlesome in a paragraph about a neighbor with the help of Grammar Coach.

✅ Attribute means to attach a definite cause to something (He attributed his superior golf swing to good coaching).

✅ Ascribe refers to giving credit to something or someone for being the source of something (I ascribed his bad mood to the phone call with the bank).

✅ Attribute and ascribe are often used interchangeably for assigning someone a certain characteristic because of their behavior (He attributed loyalty to his staff; She ascribed malice to the cat when it acted in self-defense).

✅ Unlike ascribe, which is generally neutral, attribute often has a complimentary tone (They attributed their success to the support of their family).

We’ll attribute your wonderful vocabulary to you checking out these synonyms for ascribe.

✅ Defeat is the best word to use to refer to gaining advantage over someone or something, or frustrating someone’s plans (the knight’s quest to defeat the dragon).

✅ Overcome is the best word to use to refer to surmounting difficulties and obstacles (You can overcome anything).

✅ Defeat and overcome both refer to winning out over something. Defeat emphasizes a sense of battle. Overcome emphasizes the fact that you managed to win despite opposition (She defeated the challenger; You overcame your weaknesses).

✅ Defeat is often used in the context of competition, elections, and contests (defeat the other team). Overcome can be used in the same contexts, especially when it was particularly hard to win (overcome a weak start).

Don’t be defeated by these synonyms for overcome!