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.
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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
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:
Nora resides among an assortment of odd-duck tenants, feeding daily breakfast to a punctual seagull she names Father Conway and finding secular outlets for her abiding curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
There was so much curiosity surrounding the mural, and people kept stopping to ask me questions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
It’s a clever and nasty bit of social engineering — a bait and switch that preys on people’s curiosity and the simple pleasure of feeling included.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
He says a message from a Native American man who had red hair instantly aroused his curiosity.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
“Just out of curiosity, what would you like to be called?”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
"Until relatively recently, this subset of igneous rocks were mere curiosities," said Gibson.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026
They were just a few members of a U.S. delegation accompanying Trump filled with curiosities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
For a variety of reasons, not least because people have questions, curiosities, comparisons and resentments.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026
With its unusual focus, carried through a swirl of masterworks and little-known curiosities, the book offers a fresh look into the human heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
It was on that slender riotous island which extends itself due east of New York and where there are, among other natural curiosities, two unusual formations of land.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
