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British

curious

[ kyoor-ee-uhs ]

/ ˈkyʊər i əs /

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See synonyms for: curious / curiously / curiousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

eager to learn or know; inquisitive.

prying; meddlesome.

arousing or exciting speculation, interest, or attention through being inexplicable or highly unusual; odd; strange: a curious sort of person; a curious scene.

Archaic.

made or prepared skillfully.
done with painstaking accuracy or attention to detail: a curious inquiry.
careful; fastidious.
marked by intricacy or subtlety.

OTHER WORDS FOR curious

1 inquiring, interested.

2 spying, peeping.

3 singular, novel, rare.

See synonyms for curious on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR curious

1, 2 indifferent.

See antonyms for curious on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of curious

1275–1325; Middle English <Latin cūriōsus careful, inquisitive, equivalent to cūri- (combining form of cūra care) + -ōsus-ous. See cure

synonym study for curious

2. 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.

OTHER WORDS FROM curious

cu·ri·ous·ly, adverbcu·ri·ous·ness, nounnon·cu·ri·ous, adjectivenon·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb

non·cu·ri·ous·ness, nouno·ver·cu·ri·ous, adjectiveo·ver·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·cu·ri·ous·ness, nounsu·per·cu·ri·ous, adjectivesu·per·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverbsu·per·cu·ri·ous·ness, nounun·cu·ri·ous, adjectiveun·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb

Words nearby curious

Curie-Weiss law, curio, curiosa, curiosity, Curiosity killed the cat, curious, curite, Curitiba, curium, curl, curled paperwork

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use curious in a sentence

It can give you an insight into what people are searching for, interested in, and curious about.
A comprehensive guide on using Google Trends for keyword research|Aayush Gupta|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Instead, I’m curious how we can have so many different seed data signals in the same year.
Are SAFEs obscuring today’s seed volume?|Alex Wilhelm|February 9, 2021|TechCrunch
Although Rachel is curious about Miriam’s spiritual life, especially jealous of the ease Miriam and her family share, it is more in physical ways that they connect.
Melissa Broder’s ‘Milk Fed’ is a delectable exploration of physical and emotional hunger|Bethanne Patrick|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Rivas recalls walking into the venue in Buenos Aires and being greeted by a massive — and curious — crowd of several thousand.
How break dancing made the leap from ’80s pop culture to the Olympic stage|Rick Maese|February 9, 2021|Washington Post

Shultz was a policy maven, conservative but curious, patient and determined.
George P. Shultz, counsel and Cabinet member for two Republican presidents, dies at 100|Michael Abramowitz, David Hoffman|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
Even other men of color considered Revels a curious figure, for Mississippi had never had a large free black population.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the ads are not just intended to remind the Google-curious that Paul exists and is thinking about running for president.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign|Olivia Nuzzi|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As I got better, I also got curious about what happened to other patients like me.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I had, for a long time, been curious about the place where all this fantastic stuff was made.
A Whisky Connoisseur Remembers That First Sip of The Macallan||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was way too ill to visit the set and all that, but was very curious about the film.
Idris Elba on Eric Garner, ‘Mi Mandela,’ and Selling Weed to Dave Chappelle|Marlow Stern|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At last there appeared some probability of their accomplishing this, after a most curious and truly Mexican fashion.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He heard himself saying lightly, though with apparent lack of interest: 'How curious, Lettice, how very odd!
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
This judicial bent of the child is a curious one and often develops a priggish fondness for setting others morally straight.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Sebastian Brandt died; counsellor of Strassburg, a lawyer, and author of a curious poem.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Something within him wanted to go, something that was perhaps intellectually curious.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for curious

curious

/ (ˈkjʊərɪəs) /

adjective

eager to learn; inquisitive

overinquisitive; prying

interesting because of oddness or novelty; strange; unexpected

rare (of workmanship, etc) highly detailed, intricate, or subtle

obsolete fastidious or hard to please

Derived forms of curious

curiously, adverbcuriousness, noun

Word Origin for curious

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012