Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

curious

adjective

1. eager to learn or know; inquisitive.
   Synonyms: interested, inquiring
   Antonyms: indifferent
2. Antonyms: indifferent
3. arousing or exciting speculation, interest, or attention through being inexplicable or highly unusual; odd; strange:
   a curious sort of person;
   a curious scene.
   Synonyms: rare, novel, singular
4. 1. made or prepared skillfully.
   2. done with painstaking accuracy or attention to detail:
      a curious inquiry.
   3. careful; fastidious.
   4. marked by intricacy or subtlety.

/ ˈkjʊərɪəs /

adjective

1. eager to learn; inquisitive
2. interesting because of oddness or novelty; strange; unexpected
3. rare.
   (of workmanship, etc) highly detailed, intricate, or subtle
4. obsolete.
   fastidious or hard to please

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Derived Forms

• ˈcuriousness, noun
• ˈcuriously, adverb

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Other Words From

• curi·ous·ly adverb
• curi·ous·ness noun
• non·curi·ous adjective
• non·curi·ous·ly adverb
• non·curi·ous·ness noun
• over·curi·ous adjective
• over·curi·ous·ly adverb
• over·curi·ous·ness noun
• super·curi·ous adjective
• super·curi·ous·ly adverb
• super·curi·ous·ness noun
• un·curi·ous adjective
• un·curi·ous·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of curious1

First recorded in

1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin cūriōsus “careful, inquisitive,” equivalent to cūri- (combining form of cūra “care”) + -ōsus -ous;

cure

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Word History and Origins

Origin of curious1

C14: from Latin cūriōsus taking pains over something, from cūra care

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Synonym Study

Curious,

inquisitive,

meddlesome,

prying

refer to taking an undue (and petty) interest in others' affairs.

Curious

implies a desire to know what is not properly one's concern:

curious about a neighbor's habits.

Inquisitive

implies asking impertinent questions in an effort to satisfy curiosity:

inquisitive about a neighbor's habits.

Meddlesome

implies thrusting oneself into and taking an active part in other people's affairs entirely unasked and unwelcomed:

a meddlesome cousin who tries to run the affairs of a family.

Prying

implies a meddlesome and persistent inquiring into others' affairs:

a prying reporter inquiring into the secrets of a business firm.

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Example Sentences

Now, an advocate for the victims of John Smyth tells the BBC the police were not "sufficiently curious" when told about him.

“We need to open our eyes and our ears to what children and young people are telling us and to be curious.”

Maher ripped into the new voters within Trump’s coalition, joking that the bunch curious to see what Trump would do were the “get the cat high” vote.

They enter this curious and claustrophobic home only when Mr. Reed promises his wife is baking a pie in the other room, but he draws them into his labyrinth using false promises and rhetorical exercises.

For his part, Wlezien is curious about why certain methodologies were more effective this time around.