- [uncountable, singular] curiosity (about something) | curiosity (to do something) a strong desire to know about something
- Children show curiosity about everything.
- I felt a certain curiosity to see what would happen next.
- The letter wasn't addressed to me but I opened it out of curiosity.
- His answer did not satisfy my curiosity at all.
- Sophie's curiosity was aroused by the mysterious phone call.
- intellectual curiosity
- ‘Why do you ask?’ ‘Oh, just idle curiosity’ (= no particular reason).
Extra Examples- Harry's curiosity got the better of him and he unlocked the cupboard
- I needed to satisfy my curiosity about what it was like to make records.
- Kaylee stood staring with open curiosity.
- School should awaken a child's natural curiosity.
- She has an insatiable curiosity about life.
- The children watched us with mild curiosity.
- Their curiosity was aroused by his strange behaviour.
- We went to the show out of curiosity more than anything else.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- great
- intense
- insatiable
- …
- have
- arouse
- awaken
- …
- get the better of somebody
- overcome somebody
- take over
- …
- out of curiosity
- with curiosity
- curiosity about
- …
- a sense of curiosity
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- [countable] an unusual and interesting thing
- The museum is full of historical curiosities.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French curiousete, from Latin curiositas, from curiosus ‘careful’, from cura ‘care’.
Idioms
See curiosity in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee curiosity in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcuriosity killed the cat
- (saying) used to tell somebody not to ask questions or try to find out about things that do not involve them
Check pronunciation:
curiosity