curious

[ kyoor-ee-uhs ]
See synonyms for curious on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. eager to learn or know; inquisitive.

  2. prying; meddlesome.

  1. arousing or exciting speculation, interest, or attention through being inexplicable or highly unusual; odd; strange: a curious sort of person;a curious scene.

  2. Archaic.

    • made or prepared skillfully.

    • done with painstaking accuracy or attention to detail: a curious inquiry.

    • careful; fastidious.

    • marked by intricacy or subtlety.

Origin of curious

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin cūriōsus “careful, inquisitive,” equivalent to cūri- (combining form of cūra “care”) + -ōsus -ous; see cure

synonym study For curious

2. 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.

Other words for curious

Opposites for curious

Other words from curious

  • cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb
  • cu·ri·ous·ness, noun
  • non·cu·ri·ous, adjective
  • non·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb
  • non·cu·ri·ous·ness, noun
  • o·ver·cu·ri·ous, adjective
  • o·ver·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·cu·ri·ous·ness, noun
  • su·per·cu·ri·ous, adjective
  • su·per·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb
  • su·per·cu·ri·ous·ness, noun
  • un·cu·ri·ous, adjective
  • un·cu·ri·ous·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use curious in a sentence

  • Yet, so curiously constituted is the native mind, the blowing-up of the magazine was the final tocsin of revolt.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • He was looking at me with eyebrows arched, curiously, and there was a faint suggestion of hostility in the set of his mouth.

  • He put up his brown hands and suddenly sketched Baroudi's curiously shaped eyebrows.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • In a corner stood a mediæval well, the sides curiously carved.

  • The Seneschal peered at him curiously through shortsighted eyes.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for curious

curious

/ (ˈkjʊərɪəs) /


adjective
  1. eager to learn; inquisitive

  2. overinquisitive; prying

  1. interesting because of oddness or novelty; strange; unexpected

  2. rare (of workmanship, etc) highly detailed, intricate, or subtle

  3. obsolete fastidious or hard to please

Origin of curious

1
C14: from Latin cūriōsus taking pains over something, from cūra care

Derived forms of curious

  • curiously, adverb
  • curiousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012