Lions, we hear, were nosy (5)
I believe the answer is:
pried
'nosy' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives 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' sounds like 'PRIED'.
'were' is the 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" .)