curiosity
Americannoun
plural
curiosities-
the desire to learn or know about anything; inquisitiveness.
The lesson provoked their curiosity about the natural world.
She feels that tolerance is fed by knowledge, an open mind, and curiosity about others.
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a curious, rare, or novel thing.
Exhibits on display will include such curiosities as preserved smells, infrared briefcases, and cameras hidden in coats.
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a strange, curious, or interesting quality or feature.
How bankers from Nova Scotia set up in the Caribbean in the 1880s is a curiosity of financial history.
One of the human brain's many curiosities is its tendency to see faces in abstract shapes.
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Archaic. carefulness; fastidiousness.
idioms
noun
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an eager desire to know; inquisitiveness
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the quality of being curious; strangeness
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( as modifier )
the ring had curiosity value only
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something strange or fascinating
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a rare or strange object; curio
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obsolete fastidiousness
Other Word Forms
- noncuriosity noun
- overcuriosity noun
Etymology
Origin of curiosity
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English curiosite, either from Anglo-French or directly from Latin cūriōsitās, from cūriōs(us) curious + -itās -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The first step is recognizing — and really believing — that repetition is often what allows people to stay nourished when energy, money, time or curiosity are in short supply.
From Salon
Keeping his left hand on the wall, he bent, picked one up, tried to feel the edge—but curiosity failed, and he let it fall.
From Literature
They’re aggrieved because they feel excluded from pop culture — but they lack the cultural curiosity it would take to engage with what most people, especially young people, enjoy.
From Salon
The Geneva Conventions prevent the exposure of POWs to what it calls "public curiosity".
From Barron's
I point at it, curiosity getting the better of me.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
