From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcuriouscu‧ri‧ous /ˈkjʊəriəs $ ˈkjʊr-/ ●●○ W3 adjective 1 INTERESTEDwanting to know about something → inquisitive Puppies are naturally curious.curious about He was curious about how she would react.curious to know/see/hear etc Mandy was curious to know what happened.curious look/glance Her shouting attracted some curious glances from other people in the restaurant.2 STRANGEstrange or unusual He felt a curious mixture of excitement and panic. a curious coincidence It’s curious that she left without saying goodbye.► see thesaurus at strange
Examples from the Corpus
curious• "Why do you want to know about Catherine?" "Oh no reason. I'm just curious."• The principal's response to the problem was curious.• I'm not being nosy, I'm just curious.• Even young children often become curious about drugs.• People have always been curious about exactly how life on earth began.• Being naturally curious animals, cats often find their way into dangerous places.• He had come to some curious arrangement with his landlady.• But even I am a little bit curious as to what the top news stories are.• It is curious, by the way, that the gridiron plan should have gone on so long.• The visitors were soon surrounded by a crowd of curious children.• Life in the village was a curious combination of the old and the very new.• At first Wexford felt a curious distaste and then he thought about the dead man and what he knew of him.• String theory has a curious history.• The result is a curious hybrid that values action and physical movement above all else.• Upon learning of this daily miracle, a curious neighbor gave the fish a whack.• A few curious neighbors came out to see what was going on.• They had once been white, he remembered, but now they had turned a curious shade of yellow.• She looked through the drawers of Bob's desk, curious to explore even the most unconsidered corners of his life.• He was curious to find out why she had left her job so suddenly.• It was a weird situation, and I was curious to learn more.curious about• All children are curious about the workings of things.Origin curious (1300-1400) Old French curios, from Latin curiosus “careful, wanting to know”, from cura; → CURE1 