curiosity — ozdic

Collocations

15

1

(noun.)

ADJ

great, intense

insatiable

His insatiable curiosity led him to ask questions about everything he encountered.

mild

idle, mere, simple

She opened the old box out of simple curiosity, wondering what treasures might be hidden inside.

natural

Children have a natural curiosity about how things work and why the world is the way it is.

open

The child asked questions with open curiosity about how the new machine worked.

morbid

VERB + CURIOSITY

have

arouse, awaken

The mystery of the old house awakened the children's curiosity about what lay inside.

satisfy

CURIOSITY + VERB

get the better of sb, overcome sb

Her curiosity got the better of her, so she opened the mysterious letter addressed to her brother.

PREP

out of ~

She opened the mysterious box out of curiosity, wondering what might be inside.

with ~

She examined the old photograph with curiosity, wondering who the people in it were.

~ about

She asked many questions because she had strong curiosity about how the new technology actually worked.

PHRASES

a sense of curiosity

Definitions

noun

1

Inquisitiveness; the tendency to ask and learn about things by asking questions, investigating, or exploring.

It was the first time that the lawyer had been received in that part of his friend's quarters; and he eyed the dingy windowless structure with curiosity, and gazed round with a distasteful sense of strangeness as he crossed the theatre, […]

"Certainly there is nothing wrong with Alvin's intelligence, but many of the things that should concern him seem to be a matter of complete indifference. On the other hand, he shows a morbid curiosity regarding subjects which we do not generally discuss."

2

A unique or extraordinary object which arouses interest.

He put the strangely shaped rock in his curiosity cabinet.

[The room] was adorned with a great number of nicknacks and curiosities, which might have engaged the attention of a virtuoso.

3

Careful, delicate construction; fine workmanship, delicacy of building.

wee built a homely thing like a barne, set upon Cratchets, covered with rafts, sedge, and earth, so also was the walls; the best of our houses of the like curiosity, but the most part farre much worse workmanship […]

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting

noun — a state in which you want to learn more about something

wonder

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

curiosity killed the cat

One should not be curious about things that can be dangerous.

Example Bank

6

01

It was the first time that the lawyer had been received in that part of his friend's quarters; and he eyed the dingy windowless structure with curiosity, and gazed round with a distasteful sense of st

Wiktionary

02

"Certainly there is nothing wrong with Alvin's intelligence, but many of the things that should concern him seem to be a matter of complete indifference. On the other hand, he shows a morbid curiosity

Wiktionary

03

They learn that reading, besides being something one does at school, is also something one can do on one's own, for fun, to satisfy curiosity, or even to "expand one's horizons.”

Wiktionary

04

You are really full of curiosity, aren't you?

Tatoeba · #16165

05

The child was full of curiosity.

Tatoeba · #47483

06

I opened the box out of curiosity.

Tatoeba · #240711

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, curiosity is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.