- curiosity
- cu|ri|os|i|ty [ˌkjuəriˈɔsıti US ˌkjuriˈa:s-] n plural curiosities1.) [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 follow him out of curiosity.▪ Margaret looked at him with curiosity .curiosity about▪ Children have a natural curiosity about the world around them.▪ a man of immense intellectual curiosity▪ It was idle curiosity that made me ask.2.)someone or something that is interesting because they are unusual or strange▪ a house full of old maps and other curiosities▪ In the past, men who wanted to work with children were regarded as something of a curiosity.▪ It's not worth much, but I kept it for its curiosity value.3.) curiosity killed the catused to tell someone not to ask too many questions about something▬▬▬▬▬▬▬COLLOCATES for sense 1satisfy somebody's curiosityarouse somebody's curiosity (=make people want to know about something)out of curiosity (=because of curiosity)with curiositynatural curiosityintellectual/scientific curiosityidle curiosity (=wanting to know about something for no particular reason)be burning with curiosity (=want to know about something very much)▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.