Lions, we hear, were nosy (5)
I believe the answer is:
pried
'nosy' is the definition.
The answer and definition are different parts of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives can occasionally mean the same thing.
'lions we hear' is the wordplay.
'lions' becomes 'pride' (pride is the collective noun for a group of lions).
'we hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'pride' is a homophone of 'PRIED'.
'were' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pried that I've seen before include "was impertinent" , "Made intrusive enquiries" , "became inquisitive" , "Speaking of sin" , "Snooped" .)