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:
The crossover event between Disney-owned ABC and Hulu was an attempt at synergy casting that hinged on Paul to boost curiosity across both series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Fitzhugh, who was also said to be in a relationship with a man with a criminal record, looked up incidents in spring 2024, out of what the judge called "idle curiosity".
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Kids are naturally inquisitive, but modern schooling is too often designed to anesthetize curiosity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Weber agrees: "This all started out with a curiosity to see if snakes are 'handed'. It was exciting to follow it to deep insights about their evolution."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Brickbane had always answered in one or two words, never giving anything more than necessary to quell Clare’s incessant curiosity.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
"Until relatively recently, this subset of igneous rocks were mere curiosities," said Gibson.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 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
Fragments of extraterrestrial material that have made their way to Earth have long inspired reverence among humans – some ending up as religious objects, others as curiosities for display.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2025
Mozart, as well as being intrigued by the hidden curiosities and mystical secrets of Freemasonry, unashamedly celebrated in The Magic Flute, was fascinated by the supernatural, and by what we would call psychological motive.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
