curiosity
Americannoun
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curiosities
plural
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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.
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
Curiosity is the urge you feel to know more about something. If you find a diary in a coffee shop, curiosity will make you want to look inside — but respect for the writer's privacy may convince you not to. Curiosity is the state of being curious: inquisitive, wondering, ready to poke around and figure something out. The word used to mean "very, very careful," and only in the last few hundred years turned into a word expressing the desire to know more. Maybe that's because when you're poking around in secret business, you need to be very, very careful. We also call weird things curiosities, like a phone shaped like a duck, or a shark in a jar.
Vocabulary lists containing curiosity
"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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"LAFFF"
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We Were Liars
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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.
See Examples For:
In North Carolina, our curiosity would have to be implied.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Everybody to Kenmure Street” is the ultimate what-did-I-miss movie, a life-affirming corrective, his respectful curiosity and everyone’s cherished memories in singular harmony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
He’s looking for curiosity and strategy, and wants people to come as they are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
And when you do speak to your child, "make sure your curiosity is genuine, rather than half-informed by the surveillance you've been doing".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
One of the journalists, a broad-faced man who had watched the exchange with curiosity, stopped beside me.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
First, he is showing us what he jokingly calls his "minimalist executive suite" where he is surrounded by huge piles of gifts and curiosities, which he is sent every day by fans.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
They were just a few members of a U.S. delegation accompanying Trump filled with curiosities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
At the bottom of some mezcal bottles sits one of the most recognizable curiosities in the world of spirits: a pale, curled "worm" preserved in alcohol.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 26, 2026
For a variety of reasons, not least because people have questions, curiosities, comparisons and resentments.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026
He pointed out various curiosities and was well versed in the history of the region.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
