definitions
  • synonyms

curious

[ kyoor-ee-uhs ]
/ ˈkyʊər i əs /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curious 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.
  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.

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RELATED WORDS

inquisitive, interested, exotic, unusual, puzzling, remarkable, peculiar, extraordinary, strange, mysterious, wonderful, weird, unique, bizarre, analytical, impertinent, inquiring, intrusive, meddlesome, meddling

Nearby words

curing, curio, curiosa, curiosity, curiosity killed the cat, curious, curiously, curite, curitiba, curium, curl

Origin of curious

1275–1325; Middle English < Latin cūriōsus careful, inquisitive, equivalent to cūri- (combining form of cūra care) + -ōsus -ous. See cure
SYNONYMS FOR curious
1 inquiring, interested.
2 spying, peeping.
3 singular, novel, rare.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curious ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms

Synonym study

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for curious

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 Formscuriously, 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

Word Origin and History for curious

curious

adj.

mid-14c., "eager to know" (often in a bad sense), from Old French curios "solicitous, anxious, inquisitive; odd, strange" (Modern French curieux) and directly from Latin curiosus "careful, diligent; inquiring eagerly, meddlesome," akin to cura "care" (see cure (n.)). The objective sense of "exciting curiosity" is 1715 in English. In booksellers' catalogues, the word means "erotic, pornographic." Curiouser and curiouser is from "Alice in Wonderland" (1865).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper