curious
Syllables: cu·ri·ous/ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əs/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈkjɵːɹɪjəs/
curious adjective: tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying. Also the clipping of bi-curious.
Adjective (1)
curious (comparative more curious or curiouser, superlative most curious or curiousest)
- Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
- Young children are naturally curious about the world and everything in it.
- I was ſo curious likewiſe as to goe to the place, where it is ſaid the great tower of Babel was built, being about halfe a days iourney diſtant; where I ſawe nothing but a high mountaine of earth in the midſt of a plaine where in digging you may finde certaine bricks, whereof it is ſaide the tower...1615, [Henri de Feynes, Comte de Monfart], translated by [Jean Loiseau de Tourval], An Exact and Cvriovs Survey of All the East Indies, euen to Canton, the Chiefe Cittie of China: All Duly Performed...
- Synonyms:
- enquiring, inquiring, exquisitive, investigative, peery
- Antonyms:
- incurious, noncurious, uncurious
- Caused by curiosity.
- But he to ſhifte their curious requeſt, / Gan cauſen, why ſhe could not come in place; [...].1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 26, page 534
- Such is the uneven State of human Life: And it afforded me a great many curious Speculations afterwards, when I had a little recovered my first surprise.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 185
- Leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual.
- The platypus is a curious creature, with fur like a mammal and a beak like a bird.
- 1485 – Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur, Book X, Chapter xxxi, leaf 232v
Thenne at the mete cam in Elyas the harper & by cause he was a curyous harper men herd hym synge the same lay that Dynadan had made
"Then at the meat came in Eliot the harper, and because he was a curious harper men heard him...
- Interested in entering a romantic or sexual relationship with a specified group.
- On the app I’d ultimately go with, I presented myself truthfully, as a Republican-curious woman tired of the Democrats’ hopelessness and constant pivoting during a highly charged election year.2025 February 18, Vera Papisova, “I Spent Nearly a Year on a Conservative Dating App as a Liberal—Here’s What I Learned”, in Cosmopolitan
- Careful, fastidious, particular; (specifically) demanding a high standard of excellence, difficult to satisfy.
- Honourable even in the curiousest pointes of honour, whereout there can no disgrace nor disperagement come unto her.c. 1580 (date written), Philip Sidney, “(please specify the folio)”, in [Mary Sidney], editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia […] [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William...
- I am ſo fraught with curious buſineſſe, that / I leaue out ceremony.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- Carefully or artfully constructed; made with great elegance or skill.
- To honour which a worlde of people reſorted unto the Lord de Bolognas caſtle; for the intertainment of whiche gueſtes, there neither wanted coſtly cheare, curious ſhewes, or pleaſaunt deviſes, that eyther money, friendſhip or cunning might compaſſe.1576, George Whetstone, “The Castle of Delight: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of...
- His wonted ſleepe, vnder a freſh trees ſhade, / All which ſecure, and ſweetly he enjoyes, / Is farre beyond a Princes Delicates: / His Viands ſparkling in a Golden Cup, / His bodie couched in a curious bed, / When Care, Miſtrust, and Treaſon waits on him.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
Adjective (2)
curious (not comparable)
Also used as
curious is also the clipping of bi-curious.
curious meaning in Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Punjabi
curious in Hindi
- tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate — see also inquisitive
- उत्सुक utsuk, जिज्ञासु jijñāsu
curious in Malayalam
- കൌതുകം
curious in Kannada
- ಕುತೂಹಲ
curious in Punjabi
- ਉਤਸੁਕ
More languagesFewer languages
- curious in Gujarati
- જિજ્ઞાસુ
- curious in Odia
- କୌତୁହଳର, କୌତୂହଳ
- curious in Nepali
- जिज्ञासु
- curious in Tagalog
- kiyuryus
- curious in Arabic
- فُضُولِيّ fuḍūliyy
- curious in Persian
- کنجکاو konjkâv
- curious in Vietnamese
- tò mò
Examples of curious in a sentence
- He was curious as to why it had been placed there—where it could not have lodged accidentally—and he smoothed it out.1915 January, W. Jay, “The Answering Owl. A Tale of an East Coast Spy.”, in The Boy’s Own Paper, volume XXXVIII, part I, London: “Boy’s Own...
- George is a little monkey, / and all monkeys are curious. / But no monkey / is as curious as George. / That is why his name is / Curious George.1958, Margret Rey, Curious George Flies a Kite, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin...
- I know that not everyone feels like they are naturally curious—or bold enough to ask about someone's shoes.2015, Brian Grazer, Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 58:
- The doctor heard him, faced around, and stood waiting, a curious expression settling on his harsh, medicinal face as Mr.1922 May 27, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, in Tales of the Jazz Age, New York, N.Y.: Charles...
Synonyms of curious
- enquiring, inquiring
- investigative
- aberrant
- abnormal
- alien
- anomalous
- bizarre
- booky
- deviant
- discrepant
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- eerie
- eldritch
- errant
- exceptional
- extraordinary
- fey
- forby
- freak
- freakish
- freaky
- funny
- heteroclite
- hinky
- incongruous
- incongruitous
- irregular
- kooky
- nonstandard
- odd
- outlandish
- out of the ordinary
- outré
- peculiar
- quaint
- queer
- queer as a clockwork orange
- queer as a nine bob note
- queer as a three dollar bill
- queer as a coot
- rare
Antonyms
Forms of curious
| comparative | more curious |
|---|---|
| comparative | curiouser |
| superlative | most curious |
| superlative | curiousest |
Origin of curious
From Middle English curious, from Old French curius, from Latin cūriōsus. The English word is cognate with Italian curioso, Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso, and Spanish curioso. Displaced native Old English firwitġeorn.
From curi(um) + -ous.
Words formed from curious
Words that rhyme with curious
Questions about curious
- What does curious mean?
- Curious means tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
- What is curious in Hindi?
- Curious in Hindi is उत्सुक (utsuk), जिज्ञासु (jijñāsu). See Curious meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use curious in a sentence?
- He was curious as to why it had been placed there—where it could not have lodged accidentally—and he smoothed it out.
- What part of speech is curious?
- Curious is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce curious?
- Curious is pronounced /ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əs/ (UK).
Words near curious in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: curious (page history and authors); curious (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curious (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curious (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curious (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curious (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curious (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-curious.wav, En-us-curious.ogg.
Cite this entry: “curious.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/curious. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.