curiosity
noun /ˌkjʊəriˈɒsəti/
/ˌkjʊriˈɑːsəti/
(plural curiosities)
Idioms - [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
- [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
curiosity killed the cat
- (saying) used to tell somebody not to ask questions or try to find out about things that do not involve them