# 79 Inquisitive to Intrigue

Have you ever seen the words inquisitive and intrigue and thought, “These two look related—but are they secretly the same person wearing different clothes?”

They are connected, but they are not the same.

The easiest way to remember them is:

Something intrigues you, and then your inquisitive mind starts asking questions.

For example, you see a locked box under your neighbour’s bed—don’t ask how you got there. The box intrigues you. Soon, your inquisitive mind starts asking:

• Who owns the box?
• Why is it locked?
• What is inside?
• Why am I standing in my neighbour’s bedroom?

That’s the difference in action: the two words do different jobs.

1. Inquisitive

Inquisitive is an adjective. It describes a person, mind, or nature that is curious and eager to learn, investigate, and understand.

Hindi: जिज्ञासु (jigyasu)

“The inquisitive child kept asking how airplanes fly.”
“She has an inquisitive mind and loves learning new subjects.”
“A good journalist must be inquisitive to uncover the truth.”

2. Intrigue

Intrigue is a verb or a noun. As a verb, it means to make someone curious or fascinated, usually because something is unusual or mysterious. As a noun, it means mystery, fascination, or secret plotting.

Hindi: उत्सुकता जगाना / कौतूहल पैदा करना (verb), कौतूहल (fascination), साज़िश (secret plotting)

“The old locked room intrigued me.”
“The detective was intrigued by the missing evidence.”
“The novel is full of mystery and intrigue.”

3. How They Work Together

Imagine you find an old diary in a locked cupboard, with torn pages and a note reading, “You should not be reading this.”

1. The diary intrigues you.
2. You become intrigued.
3. Your inquisitive mind starts asking: Who wrote it? Why was it hidden? What happened on that date?

“The mysterious diary intrigued me, and my inquisitive mind made me investigate it.”

4. Common Mistake

❌ “I am intrigue by this story.”
✅ “I am intrigued by this story.”

Use intrigued, because it describes how you feel.

5. Grammar Reference

Inquisitive, Intriguing, and Intrigued

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning and Examples
Inquisitive	Adjective	Naturally curious. She is an inquisitive student.
Intriguing	Adjective	Interesting or mysterious. That is an intriguing theory.
Intrigued	Adjective (past participle)	Feeling curious or fascinated. I am intrigued by the theory. Hindi: उत्सुक (utsuk)
Intrigue	Verb, noun	To fascinate; mystery or secret plotting. The letter intrigued me. Hindi: कौतूहल

Key Differences

Feature	Inquisitive	Intrigue
Describes	A person, mind, or nature	Something that creates curiosity
Focus	The curious person	The mysterious thing
Core idea	Wanting to know more	Making someone want to know more

6. Memory Trick

Think of curiosity as a small detective in your head:

• Intrigue rings the doorbell.
• Intrigued is the detective saying, “Interesting… tell me more.”
• Inquisitive is the detective opening the door with a notebook.

7. In a Nutshell

Inquisitive (जिज्ञासु) is the person who wants to know.
Intrigue (कौतूहल जगाना) is the thing that makes them want to know.

“The mysterious case intrigued the inquisitive detective.”

Keep learning. Every word you understand strengthens your legal voice.

Adv. Anpama Singh

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Sources: Cambridge Dictionary · The Free Dictionary · The Content Authority