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Inquiry vs Discover - What's the difference?

inquiry | discover |

As a noun inquiry

is the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.

As a proper noun discover is

(us) , a brand of credit card.

inquiry

English

(wikipedia inquiry)

Alternative forms

* enquiry

Noun

(inquiries)
  • The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
  • Search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; as, physical inquiries.

    • Usage notes

    According to Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (1926), ''inquiry'' should be used in relation to a formal inquest, and ''enquiry'' to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; the Oxford English Dictionary, in its entry not updated since 1900, lists ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' as equal alternatives, in that order. Some British dictionaries, such as ''Chambers 21st Century Dictionary'' [http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry], present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but prefer ''inquiry'' for the "formal inquest" sense. In Australian English, ''inquiry'' represents a formal inquest (such as a government investigation) while ''enquiry'' is used in the act of questioning (eg: the customer enquired about the status of his loan application). Both spellings are current in Canadian English, where ''enquiry'' is often associated with scholarly or intellectual research. (See Pam Peters, ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage , p. 282.) American English usually uses inquiry .

    References

    *

    discover

    English

    Alternative forms

    * discovre (obsolete)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To remove the cover from; to uncover (a head, building etc.).
  • To expose, uncover.
  • :
  • (chess) To create by moving a piece out of another piece's line of attack.
  • :
  • (archaic) To reveal (information); to divulge, make known.
  • :
  • *Shakespeare
  • *:Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover / The several caskets to this noble prince.
  • *Francis Bacon
  • *:Prosperity doth best discover' vice; but adversity doth best ' discover virtue.
  • (obsolete) To reconnoitre, explore (an area).
  • *, Bk.V, ch.ix:
  • *:they seyde the same, and were aggreed that Sir Clegis, Sir Claryon, and Sir Clement the noble, that they sholde dyscover the woodys, bothe the dalys and the downys.
  • To find or learn something for the first time.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Can China clean up fast enough? , passage=All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism.}}
  • (obsolete) To manifest without design; to show; to exhibit.
  • *C. J. Smith
  • *:The youth discovered a taste for sculpture.
  • *1806 , Alexander Hunter, Culina Famulatrix Medicinæ , p.125:
  • *:The English Cooks keep all their Spices in separate boxes, but the French Cooks make a spicey mixture that does not discover a predominancy of any one of the spices over the others.

    • Synonyms

    * (expose something previously covered) expose, reveal, uncover * (find something for the first time) come across, find

    Antonyms

    * (expose something previously covered) conceal, cover, cover up, hide

    Derived terms

    * discovery * discovered attack * discovered check

    See also

    * invent * detect * find * stumble upon

    Anagrams

    * * 1000 English basic words