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Inscrutable. [R.]

To sift; to strain; to examine thoroughly; to scrutinize; as, to canvass the votes cast at an election; to canvass a district with reference to its probable vote. I have made careful search on all hands, and canvassed the matter with all possible diligence. Woodward.

or iron, with two arms for supporting a boom, spare yards, etc.; -- called also crane and crutch. Totten.

Marked with the sign of the cross. [Obs.] Crouched friar. See Crutched friar, under Crutched.

eing the oldest known stringed instrument played with a bow. [Written also croud, crowth, cruth, and crwth.] A lackey that . . . can warble upon a crowd a little. B. Jonson.

Critical perception or scrutiny; judgment based on such scrutiny; esp., perception pf, or judgment concerning, motives and character. The quick eye for effects, the clear diagnosis of men's minds, and the love of epigram. Compton Reade. My diagnosis of his character proved correct. J. Payn. Differential diagnosis (Med.…

ore exalted mind. Milton. Time never fails to bring every exalted reputation to a strict scrutiny. Ames. -- Ex*alt"ed*ly, adv. -- Ex*alt"ed*ness, n. "The exaltedness of some minds." T. Gray.

t of examining, or state of being examined; a careful search, investigation, or inquiry; scrutiny by study or experiment.

an exulting heart. "An exulting countenance." Bancroft. The dumb shall sing, the lame his crutch forego, And leap exulting like the bounding roe. Pope.

To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches. The friar was hobbling the same way too. Dryden.

esp. in order to ascertain quality or condition, to detect errors, etc., to examine; to scrutinize; to investigate; as, to inspect conduct.

of inspecting or looking at carefully; a strict or prying examination; close or careful scrutiny; investigation. Spenser. With narrow search, and with inspection deep, Considered every creature. Milton.

Unsearchable; inscrutable. [Obs.] So unsearchable the judgment and so investigable the ways thereof. Bale.

Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact. But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied. Milton.

With minute scrutiny; closely; as, to look or watch narrowly; to search narrowly.

To question with a view to puzzling; to embarrass by questioning or scrutiny; to bring to a stand. A question wherewith a learned Pharisee thought to pose and puzzle him. Barrow.

A staff or crutch. [Obs.]

Fig.: to search to the bottom; to scrutinize or examine thoroughly. Dryden. The growing disposition to probe the legality of all acts, of the crown. Hallam.

To peep narrowly; to gaze; to inspect closely; to attempt to discover something by a scrutinizing curiosity; -- often implying reproach. " To pry upon the stars." Chaucer. Watch thou and wake when others be asleep, To pry into the secrets of the state. Shak.

go over and examine point by point; to examine with care; to look closely at or into; to scrutinize. The actions of men in high stations are all conspicuous, and liable to be scanned and sifted. Atterbury.