Meaning of curious in English

curious

adjective

/ˈkjʊr.i.əs/ uk

/ˈkjʊə.ri.əs/

curious adjective (INTERESTED)

Add to word list Add to word list

interested in learning about people or things around you:

I was curious to know what would happen next.

curious about Babies are curious about everything around them.

"Why did you ask?" "I was just curious."

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

interested in learning about people or things

curiousThe best students are the ones who are curious about everything.
inquisitiveShe's such an inquisitive little girl!
inquiringThe organization tries to encourage inquiring and analytical young people to go into the sciences.
nosy"Did her spouse leave her?" "Well, aren't you rather nosy!"
prurientThat reporter has a reputation for being prurient and asking questions that are too invasive.

See more results »

More examplesFewer examples

A crowd of curious onlookers soon gathered to see what was happening.
The visitors were surrounded on all sides by curious children.
Do you want to see what I bought her? I can see you're curious.
Tell me, I'm curious, what exactly was going on in his office just then?
"Why do you keeping asking about my neighbors?" "Oh, I'm just curious."

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Curiosity

See more results »

curious adjective (STRANGE)

strange and unusual:

curious-looking We found some curious-looking frogs in the pond, which turned out to be a threatened species.

A curious thing happened to me yesterday.

It's curious (that) Billy hasn't phoned when he promised he would.

Synonyms

bizarre
eccentric  (STRANGE)
eerie
freakish
funny  (STRANGE)
odd (STRANGE)
outlandish disapproving
peculiar (STRANGE)
strange (UNUSUAL)
weird

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

strange

strangeShe's a strange girl.
oddI always thought there was something a bit odd about her.
bizarreI had a really bizarre dream last night.
weirdHis movies are so weird that I can barely get through them.
funnyThis lemonade tastes funny.
peculiarThe chicken had a peculiar smell.

See more results »

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Strange, suspicious and unnatural

aberrant
aberrantly
abnormal
abnormally
add
freakishness
funnily
funnily enough idiom
funny ha-ha or funny strange/weird? idiom
ghostliness
perverse
perversely
perversity
perverted
pervy
unorthodox
wack
wackadoodle
wackily
wackiness

See more results »

Related word

curiously

(Definition of curious from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

curious | Intermediate English

curious

adjective

/ˈkjʊər·i·əs/

curious adjective (INTERESTED)

Add to word list Add to word list

interested in learning about people or things around you:

[ + to infinitive ] I’m curious to see what’s going to happen on the political scene.

curious adjective (UNUSUAL)

unusual and therefore worth noticing:

A curious figure in a red cape and black boots darted into the building.

(Definition of curious from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of curious

curious

This is a curious statement coming from an individual that doesn't know any physics.

From Phys.Org

At the time, it seemed like a curious decision, interpreted as a sell-off move by many outside analysts.

From The Seattle Times

A smattering of curious passers-by watch as six television cameras start rolling.

From Washington Times

We're curious about what's happening before kindergarten, through college and beyond.

From CNN

It is curious that the brain is a pretty static organ.

From The Atlantic

Maybe they were lonely, maybe they were curious, maybe they were bored.

From Huffington Post

I also felt slightly more organized, and a curious sense of emotional stability.

From The Atlantic

He also has a curious streak of honor that keeps him from outright evil -- mostly.

From NPR

I'm no longer scared of them, just curious.

From The New York Review of Books

It's very curious, because it could be a poem that's, you know, been published in books over the years.

From NPR

It gives us insight into what happens in our brain when we become curious.

From Huffington Post

I'm just curious about how the kids feel.

From ABC News

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of curious?