incurious

American  

[in-kyoor-ee-uhs] / ɪnˈkyʊər i əs /

adjective

1. not curious; not inquisitive or observant; inattentive; indifferent.

   Synonyms:

   unconcerned, apathetic, uninterested

2. Archaic. lacking care or attention; careless; negligent.

3. Archaic. deficient in interest or novelty.

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incurious British  

/ ɪnˈkjʊərɪəs, ɪnˌkjʊərɪˈɒsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. not curious; indifferent or uninterested

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• incuriosity
  noun
• incuriously
  adverb
• incuriousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of incurious

From the Latin word incūriōsus, dating back to 1560–70. See in- ³, curious

Explanation

If you're incurious, you don't care very much or aren't interested. There's nothing more frustrating to a teacher than a classroom full of incurious students. The adjective incurious is useful for describing someone who really couldn't care less — who doesn't ask questions or wonder why or how something happens. Incurious people don't make good scientists, journalists, or researchers, because they lack curiosity, or the impulse to know more about something or someone. The roots of incurious are in-, "not," and the Latin curiosus, "inquiring eagerly."

Example Sentences

Throughout, he seems almost willfully incurious about why people hunt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Again and again, he witnesses painful silences in public-school classrooms full of incurious young people who do not read and do not know anything about anything.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

That isolation only makes us cold, cruel, unfriendly, unloving and incurious when we venture into the world and cross paths with all of the incredible people who inhabit it.

From Salon • Jan. 20, 2025

In an instant, his beach route comment did me a huge kindness and made me feel like an incurious boor.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2024

It was easier to stay incurious as an officer.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover