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pray ~ prey ~ pry

[‘Pray’ rhymes with ‘prey’; but ‘pry’ has a different end sound that rhymes with ‘lie’.]

“Pray” (verb) is ‘to speak to God (along or with others; silently or softly or even loudly) to give thanks or to request for something; to wish or hope for something very strongly; to request somebody very seriously or sincerely; (the noun form is ‘prayer’ = the act of talking to god)’,

e.g.

We pray to God for His mercy.

Please, don’t neglect your health.  I pray you to see a doctor immediately.  [here the request is not to God, but to a friend or relative; requesting very seriously and sincerely]

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“Prey”, as a noun, is ‘an animal, bird or fish, or even an insect, that is killed and eaten by another animal, including humans, which is called ‘predator’; and as a verb, it is ‘to catch, kill and eat some other living being as food; (with the preposition ‘on’ or ‘upon’) to catch, kill and eat other animals for food; and (of people) to get or steal money or food from innocent, weak or helpless people, usually using wrong or dishonest methods (cheat)’,

{The animal or human that kills or cheats others is called a ‘predator‘, and very less commonly, ‘preyer‘.}

e.g.

The tiger jumped on its prey (a deer), killed it and dragged it away to eat it later.

My friend is an easy prey; anybody can cheat him.

And eagle is a bird of prey and it usually preys on small animals like rats, rabbits, etc.

This indecent woman makes friends with older men and preys on them.   [i.e. she gets money from them for being friends with them]

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“Pry” (verb) is ‘to try to find out about other people’s private affairs secretly; (with the preposition‘into’) to inquiry into other people’s affairs, matters with too much interest; {also prize or prise} to raise or remove the cover of something, such as the lid of a tin or the cover of a box, usually when it is stuck or difficult to open, with a sharp tool’,

e.g.

We all tried to pry open the box in vain.

We never pried into anybody’s diaries.

 

 

[Return to "prey" in People & Professions.]

 

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