scrutiny

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
  2. noun a prolonged intense look

Etymology

From Middle English scrutiny, from Medieval Latin scrūtinium (“a search, an inquiry”), from Vulgar Latin scrūtor (“to search or examine thoroughly”), from Late Latin scrūta (“rubbish, broken trash”), from an extension of Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

examination

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading