curiosity

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 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 cat
used to tell someone not to ask too many questions about something
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COLLOCATES for sense 1
satisfy somebody's curiosity
arouse somebody's curiosity (=make people want to know about something)
out of curiosity (=because of curiosity)
with curiosity
natural curiosity
intellectual/scientific curiosity
idle curiosity (=wanting to know about something for no particular reason)
be burning with curiosity (=want to know about something very much)
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Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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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 — 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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