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curious

 
Dictionary: cu·ri·ous   (kyʊr'ē-əs) pronunciation
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.]

curiously cu'ri·ous·ly adv.
curiousness cu'ri·ous·ness n.

SYNONYMS   curious, inquisitive, snoopy, nosy. 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.


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Thesaurus: curious
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adjective

  1. Eager to acquire knowledge: inquiring, inquisitive, investigative, questioning. See investigate.
  2. Unduly interested in the affairs of others: inquisitive, inquisitorial. Informal nosy, snoopy. See investigate.
  3. Causing puzzlement; perplexing: funny, odd, peculiar, queer, strange, weird. See usual/unusual.
  4. Deviating from the customary: bizarre, cranky, eccentric, erratic, freakish, idiosyncratic, odd, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, queer, quirky, singular, strange, unnatural, unusual, weird. Slang kooky, screwball. British Slang rum, rummy. See usual/unusual.

Antonyms: curious
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adj

Definition: desiring knowledge, understanding
Antonyms: disinterested, incurious, indifferent, uninterested

adj

Definition: very odd
Antonyms: average, normal, ordinary, usual


Word Tutor: curious
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Eager to learn or find out. Also: odd.

pronunciation An idea is a curious thing. It will not work unless you do. — Hannah Whitall Smith (1833-1911).

Wikipedia: Curious (disambiguation)
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Curiosity may refer as a noun to a novel item or phenomenon kept as an attraction to the interest of the public; it is so named because it is intended to engender curiosity in its viewers. Curious or curiosity may also refer to:


Translations: Curious
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - nysgerrig, mærkværdig, pornografisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
nieuwsgierig, benieuwd, vreemd, erotisch prikkelend

Français (French)
adj. - curieux, curieux (péj), étrange

Deutsch (German)
adj. - neugierig, seltsam

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - παράξενος, περίεργος, (φιλο)περίεργος, αδιάκριτος

Italiano (Italian)
curioso

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - curioso, raro (coloq.)

Русский (Russian)
любопытный, диковинный, изысканный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - curioso, interesado, extraño, ávido de saber

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - vetgirig, nyfiken, egendomlig, minutiöst grundlig (åld.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
好奇的, 古怪的, 求知的

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 好奇的, 古怪的, 求知的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 호기심이 강한, 기이한, 이상한, 정밀한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 好奇心の強い, せんさく好きな, 好奇心をそそる, 奇妙な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) فضولي, غريب, عجيب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮אירוטי (ספר), נדיר, מוזר, סקרן‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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