curious

[kyoor-ee-uhs]

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.

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

Origin of curious

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

Related formscu·ri·ous·ly, adverbcu·ri·ous·ness, nounnon·cu·ri·ous, adjectivenon·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverbnon·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

Synonyms for curious

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curious ON THESAURUS.COM

1. inquiring, interested. 2. spying, peeping. 3. singular, novel, rare.

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.

Antonyms for curious

1, 2. indifferent.

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

Related Words for curious

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

Examples from the Web for curious

Contemporary Examples of curious

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
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
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
“They are very friendly and curious,” The Evening Independent wrote in 1979 in an item emphasizing their popularity and cuteness.
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real Life
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014
And there is this curious connection as well: Leila and Temur have the same daughter-in-law.
The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord
Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze
October 27, 2014

Historical Examples of curious

He left her studying the card with a curious little flash of surprise.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
It is curious to note the extent to which the unexpected has come about.
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
They were as yet quite ignorant but thanks to a happy Fate they were curious.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
She went about looking at things, curious, touching them softly as if they were sacred.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
At any rate the marshal smiled, and a curious flush came in Andrew's face.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand

British Dictionary definitions for curious

curious

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

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).