scrute

See also: scruté

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scrūtor, scrūtārī (“to search carefully; to seek for”). Now often reanalyzed from inscrutable.

Verb

scrute (third-person singular simple present scrutes, present participle scruting, simple past and past participle scruted)

1. (intransitive, transitive, rare) To examine (something) carefully; to scrutinize.
   • 1996, William Peter Blatty, Demons Five, Exorcists Nothing: A Fable, New York, N.Y.: Donald I. Fine Books, →ISBN, page 36:

     Hazard scruted the Angels with hooded eyes; the low drone of their murmured ritual chanting of "Make my day" was getting on his nerves. He turned and gloomed down at the table again.

   • 2008, Steve Hockensmith, The Black Dove, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Minotaur, →ISBN, page 1:

     And folks call the Chinese inscrutable. When my elder brother's got his mind fixed on a mystery, there's just no scruting the man.

Related terms

• scrutator
• scrutinate
• scrutinize

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skʁyt/

Verb

scrute

1. inflection of scruter:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• crûtes