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curious

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cu⋅ri⋅ous

  [kyoor-ee-uhs]
Use curious in a Sentence
–adjective
1. eager to learn or know; inquisitive.
2. prying; meddlesome.
3. arousing or exciting speculation, interest, or attention through being inexplicable or highly unusual; odd; strange: a curious sort of person; a curious scene.
4. Archaic.
a. made or prepared skillfully.
b. done with painstaking accuracy or attention to detail: a curious inquiry.
c. careful; fastidious.
d. marked by intricacy or subtlety.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < L cūriōsus careful, inquisitive, equiv. to cūri- (comb. form of cūra care) + -ōsus -ous. See cure

Related forms:
cu⋅ri⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
cu⋅ri⋅ous⋅ness, noun

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

Antonyms:
1, 2. indifferent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cu·ri·ous   (kyŏŏr'ē-əs)   
adj.  

  1. Eager to learn more: curious investigators; a trapdoor that made me curious.

  2. Unduly inquisitive; prying.

  3. Arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness: a curious fact.

  4. Archaic

    1. Accomplished with skill or ingenuity.

    2. Extremely careful; scrupulous.


[Middle English, from Old French curios, from Latin cūriōsus, careful, inquisitive, from cūra, care; see cure.]
cu'ri·ous·ly adv., cu'ri·ous·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives apply to persons who show a marked desire for information or knowledge. Curious most often implies an avid desire to know or learn, though it can suggest prying: A curious child is a teacher's delight. A curious neighbor can be a nuisance.
Inquisitive frequently suggests excessive curiosity and the asking of many questions: "Remember, no revolvers. The police are, I believe, proverbially inquisitive" (Lord Dunsany).
Snoopy suggests underhanded prying: The snoopy hotel detective spied on guests in the lobby.
Nosy implies impertinent curiosity likened to that of an animal using its nose to examine or probe: My nosy colleague went through my mail. See Also Synonyms at strange.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

curious 
c.1340, "eager to know" (often in a bad sense), from L. curiosus "careful, diligent, curious," akin to cura "care." The objective sense of "exciting curiosity" is 1715. In booksellers' catalogues, the word means "erotic, pornographic." Curiosity is c.1378; in sense of "object of interest," 1645. Curiouser and curiouser is from "Alice in Wonderland" (1865).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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