curiosity

American  

[kyoor-ee-os-i-tee] / ˌkjʊər iˈɒs ɪ ti /

noun

curiosities plural

1. 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.

2. a curious, rare, or novel thing.

   Exhibits on display will include such curiosities as preserved smells, infrared briefcases, and cameras hidden in coats.

3. 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.

4. Archaic. carefulness; fastidiousness.

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idioms

1. curiosity killed the cat, being too inquisitive is dangerous.

   I'd really like to know what's going on in the boss's head, but then, curiosity killed the cat.

curiosity British  

/ ˌkjʊərɪˈɒsɪtɪ /

noun

1. an eager desire to know; inquisitiveness

2. 1. the quality of being curious; strangeness

   2. ( as modifier )

      the ring had curiosity value only

3. something strange or fascinating

4. a rare or strange object; curio

5. obsolete fastidiousness

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncuriosity
  noun
• overcuriosity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• curiosities
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curiosity curiosities

Earlier this month, Marvel shared playful videos of Sink somewhat discussing her role to help stave off eager fans’ curiosity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Express curiosity about their career and update them on how you’re feeling about your role, whether it be good or bad.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

But her reportorial affect is cool, her curiosity is genuine and she takes no cheap shots even as she depicts ugly things.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

After the deaths of their parents, the aging bluebloods holed up in their stately Harlem rowhouse, once a picture of Gilded Age polish, and became a public curiosity.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

I was terrified and dying of curiosity at the same time, but I couldn’t just flee without finishing the job.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

At the bottom of some mezcal bottles sits one of the most recognizable curiosities in the world of spirits: a pale, curled "worm" preserved in alcohol.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 26, 2026

For a variety of reasons, not least because people have questions, curiosities, comparisons and resentments.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

In a preface, the film director Guillermo del Toro likens this collection to early modern cabinets of curiosities, whose juxtapositions of natural and artificial objects were meant to expose a hidden order of existence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Cut off from the world, they tentatively explore their mutual curiosities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025

After all, why shouldn’t our styles be seen as equal to the latest trends from Europe, instead of mere curiosities?

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• concern
• inquisitiveness
• interest