curiosity

n., pl. -ties.

1. A desire to know or learn.
2. A desire to know about people or things that do not concern one; nosiness.
3. An object that arouses interest, as by being novel or extraordinary: kept the carved bone and displayed it as a curiosity.
4. A strange or odd aspect.
5. Archaic. Fastidiousness.

[Middle English curiosite, from Old French, from Latin cūriōsitās, from cūriōsus, inquisitive. See curious.]

noun

1. Mental acquisitiveness: curiousness, inquisitiveness, interest. Idioms: thirst for knowledge. See investigate.
2. Undue interest in the affairs of others: curiousness, inquisitiveness. Informal nosiness, snoopiness. See investigate.

n

Definition: intense desire to know, understand
Antonyms: disinterest, indifference

n

Definition: odd item
Antonyms: normality

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Seeking knowledge without prospect of immediate gain or reward is a characteristic of higher animals, and is most marked by far in man. It implies a degree of risk taking, since the unknown is explored, and is difficult to explain in theories of behaviour based on motivation and drive reduction; but it clearly has survival value, when combined with rapid learning. One might say that man is unique as a species through his extraordinary curiosity.

(Published 1987)

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

An objectionable quality of the female mind. The desire to know whether or not a woman is cursed with curiosity is one of the most active and insatiable passions of the masculine soul.

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IN BRIEF: A strong feeling of wanting to know or learn. Also: a strange or unusual thing.

Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. — William Arthur Ward.

Quotes:

"The curiosity to know things has been given to man as a scourge." - Apocrypha

"You must learn day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in." - Ethel Barrymore

"Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shrewd unto thee than men understand." - Bible

"Where the apple reddens never pry -- lest we lose our Edens, Eve and I." - Robert Browning

"All my life I've been harassed by questions: Why is something this way and not another? How do you account for that? This rage to understand, to fill in the blanks, only makes life more banal. If we could only find the courage to leave our destiny to chance, to accept the fundamental mystery of our lives, then we might be closer to the sort of happiness that comes with innocence." - Luis Bunuel

"The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity." - Edmund Burke

See more famous quotes about Curiosity

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - nysgerrighed, mærkværdighed, kuriositet

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    nysgerrighed dræbte smedens kat

Nederlands (Dutch)
nieuwsgierigheid, curiositeit

Français (French)
n. - curiosité, intérêt, original (une personne)

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    la curiosité est un vilain défaut

Deutsch (German)
n. - Neugier, Kuriosität

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    halt deine Neugier in Schranken

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - περιέργεια, παλαιό κομψοτέχνημα

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    όποιος ανακατεύεται με τα πίτουρα τον τρώνε οι κότες

Italiano (Italian)
curiosità

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    tanto va la gatta al lardo...

Português (Portuguese)
n. - curiosidade (f)

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    a curiosidade matou o gato

Русский (Russian)
любопытство, диковинка

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    любопытной Варваре на базаре нос оторвали

Español (Spanish)
n. - curiosidad, extrañeza, rareza

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    por la boca muere el pez, la curiosidad mató al gato

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vetgirighet, nyfikenhet, märkvärdighet, kuriositet

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
好奇心, 珍品, 新奇的事物

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    不要太好奇

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 好奇心, 珍品, 新奇的事物

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    不要太好奇

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 호기심, 신기함, 진품

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 好奇心, せんさく好き, 珍しいもの, 骨董品

idioms:

• curiosity killed the cat    好奇心もほどほどに

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فضول, تطفل, حب الاستطلاع, تحفه, طرفه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סקרנות, דבר נדיר‬

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