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View synonyms for

curiosity

[ kyoor-ee-os-i-tee ]

noun

plural curiosities.
  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.


curiosity

/ ˌʊəɪˈɒɪɪ /

noun

  1. an eager desire to know; inquisitiveness
    1. the quality of being curious; strangeness
    2. ( as modifier )

      the ring had curiosity value only

  2. something strange or fascinating
  3. a rare or strange object; curio
  4. obsolete.
    fastidiousness
“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
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Other Word Forms

  • ԴDz···Dz··ٲ noun
  • ····Dz··ٲ noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of curiosity1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English curiosite, either from Anglo-French or directly from Latin ūō, from ūō(ܲ) curious + - -ity
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Idioms and Phrases

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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

We choose to go to space — sending humans and probes — and we pursue knowledge because curiosity is our evolutionary heritage.

From

These activities encouraged curiosity and empathetic listening, skills as important to future Navy and Marine Corps officers as learning military tactics and armament.

From

Sweet salads are back — not with irony, but with curiosity.

From

In that case, it’s no surprise that “Sinners,” Coogler’s first entirely original film, would pique viewers’ curiosity.

From

A similar level of curiosity also could extend to quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was projected as a potential first-round pick before falling to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.

From

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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.

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