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SEARCHING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Exploring thoroughly
Classified under:
Similar:
explorative; exploratory (serving in or intended for exploration or discovery)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
Example:
a searching investigation of their past dealings
Synonyms:
inquisitory; probing; searching
Classified under:
Similar:
inquiring (given to inquiry)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect
Example:
trenchant criticism
Synonyms:
searching; trenchant
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intelligent (having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb search
Context examples:
The Abbot turned his angry eyes away from them and bent them upon the accused, who met his searching gaze with a firm and composed face.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Past studies have shown that tumor cells can be detected in blood and bone marrow by searching for tumor-specific gene sequences.
(Tumor DNA in Blood Reveals Lymphoma Progression, NIH)
An unsmiling, a searching, a meaning gaze it was.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
She put it down on her lap as we entered and looked at us with her frank, searching blue eyes.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Researchers have studied the blood of an Ebola survivor, searching for human antibodies that might effectively treat not only people infected with Ebola virus, but those infected with related viruses as well.
(Antibodies from Ebola survivor protect mice and ferrets against related viruses, NIH)
She was busily searching through the neighbourhood for a proper situation for her daughter, and, without knowing or considering what their income might be, rejected many as deficient in size and importance.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Physicists have been searching pentaquarks for almost 50 years, but the research group that made the discovery, a Syracuse University team, wasn't specifically looking for them.
(Physicists discover long-sought 'pentaquark' particle, NSF)
After searching for this molecule in star-forming regions with ALMA, the European team moved on to a Solar System object: the now-famous comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
(Astronomers Reveal Interstellar Thread of One of Life’s Building Blocks, ESO)
In addition to searching for new drugs, scientists often look to re-purpose existing drugs.
(Blood pressure drug shows promise for treating Parkinson’s and dementia in animal studies, University of Cambridge)
