curiosity

curiosity
noun
1 (singular, uncountable) the desire to know about something, or to know about a lot of different things
(+ about): Children have a natural curiosity about the world around them. | out of curiosity: Just out of curiosity, how old are you? | burning/bursting with curiosity (=having an extremely strong desire to know something) | idle curiosity (=the desire to know something that you do not need to know): It's not just idle curiosity. | satisfy your curiosity (=find out what you want to know): I just had to satisfy my curiosity, so I opened the parcel.
2 (C) something that is interesting because it is unusual or strange: His house was full of old maps and other curiosities.
3 curiosity killed the cat an expression used to tell someone not to ask questions about something that does not concern them

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Synonyms:
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  • Curiosity — Cu ri*os i*ty (k[=u] r[i^]*[o^]s [i^]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Curiosities} ( t[i^]z). [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curioset[ e], curiosit[ e], F. curiosit[ e], fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See {Curious}, and cf. {Curio}.] 1. The state or quality… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curiosity — (Mars Science Laboratory) Заказчик NASA Производитель …   Википедия

  • curiosity — ► NOUN (pl. curiosities) 1) a strong desire to know or learn something. 2) a unusual or interesting object or fact. ● curiosity killed the cat Cf. ↑curiosity killed the cat …   English terms dictionary

  • curiosity — (n.) late 14c., careful attention to detail, also desire to know or learn (originally usually in a bad sense), from O.Fr. curiosete curiosity, avidity, choosiness (Mod.Fr. curiosité), from L. curiositatem (nom. curiositas) desire of knowledge,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • curiosity — [n1] intense desire to know, understand concern, eagerness, inquiring mind, inquiringness, inquisitiveness, interest, interestingness, intrusiveness, investigation, meddlesomeness, meddling, mental acquisitiveness, nosiness, officiousness, prying …   New thesaurus

  • curiosity — index interest (concern), phenomenon (unusual occurrence) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • curiosity — [kyoor΄ē äs′ə tē] n. pl. curiosities [ME curiousite < OFr curiosité < L curiositas < curiosus: see CURIOUS] 1. a desire to learn or know 2. a desire to learn about things that do not properly concern one; inquisitiveness 3. anything… …   English World dictionary

  • Curiosity — For other uses, see Curiosity (disambiguation). Curious redirects here. For other uses, see Curious (disambiguation). Curious children gather around photographer Toni Frissell, looking at her camera Curiosity (from Latin curiosus careful,… …   Wikipedia

  • curiosity — cu|ri|os|i|ty [ˌkjuəriˈɔsıti US ˌkjuriˈa:s ] n plural curiosities 1.) [singular, U] the desire to know about something ▪ I opened the packet just to satisfy my curiosity. ▪ The news aroused a lot of curiosity among local people. ▪ She decided to… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • curiosity — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ great, intense ▪ insatiable ▪ She has an insatiable curiosity about life. ▪ mild ▪ idle …   Collocations dictionary

  • curiosity */ — UK [ˌkjʊərɪˈɒsətɪ] / US [ˌkjʊrɪˈɑsətɪ] noun Word forms curiosity : singular curiosity plural curiosities 1) [singular/uncountable] a strong feeling of wanting to find out about something curiosity about: All children have a certain curiosity… …   English dictionary

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