From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcuriositycu‧ri‧os‧i‧ty /ˌkjʊəriˈɒsəti $ ˌkjʊriˈɑːs-/ ●●○ noun (plural curiosities) 1 [singular, uncountable]FIND OUT 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 [countable]STRANGE 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 catCOLLOCATIONSverbshave a lot of curiosityBright children often have a lot of curiosity.satisfy somebody's curiosity (=find out something that you want to know)I decided to call him in order to satisfy my curiosity.arouse somebody's curiosity (=make someone want to know about something)New people in the village always aroused our curiosity.curiosity gets the better of somebody/overcomes somebody (=makes you do something that you are trying not to do)Curiosity got the better of me and I opened her diary.pique somebody's curiosity (=make someone want to know about something)Something she said had piqued his curiosity.adjectivesnatural curiosityThe children are encouraged to follow their natural curiosity, and learn about what interests them. intellectual curiosityHighly intelligent people are full of intellectual curiosity.scientific curiosity (=about scientific things)Their scientific curiosity led to the development of the vaccine.idle curiosity (=wanting to know something for no particular reason)Out of idle curiosity, I looked out of the window.open curiosity (=that you do not try to hide)The children were staring at her with open curiosity.great/intense curiosityHis disappearance had obviously aroused great curiosity.insatiable curiosity (=used when someone is always curious)He had an insatiable curiosity about why people do the things they do.mild curiosity (=not great)I watched what was happening with mild curiosity.morbid curiosity (=a feeling of wanting to know about death or other bad things that happen)the morbid curiosity of the onlookers at the trialphrasesbe burning with curiosity (=want to know about something very much)She was burning with curiosity about him, but was too polite to ask.be an object/a subject of curiosity (=be something or someone that makes people curious)Anyone new was always the object of our curiosity.curiosity + NOUNcuriosity value (=the quality or advantage of being something that people want to know about)When the shop was new it had curiosity value.
Examples from the Corpus
curiosity• The emperor's visit was treated as a curiosity rather than a political event.• His curiosity and detailed pursuits with paint and drawing materials continued throughout his life as a vital source of exploration and communication.• Where were the important elements: inventiveness, initiative, adaptability, intellectual curiosity, sensitivity, confidence, determination?• These investigations of the sun's luminosity are not just intellectual curiosity.• Events like these excite a child's natural curiosity.• The kids had never come right out and admitted their curiosity.• Some came to seek the new power, some to chuckle, others to satisfy their curiosity.• Adam's next problem was how to obtain a translation of the document and Goering's letter without arousing unnecessary curiosity.• To satisfy vistors' curiosity, park officials have prepared maps on which the historical sites are clearly marked.• It is a dialogue that begins with curiosity and is fueled by knowledge, leading to understanding.• Olly was bursting with curiosity about the new house.satisfy ... curiosity• Foucard had once gone to that door, thrown it wide, given the room an all-embracing glance, satisfied his curiosity.• At least he had satisfied his curiosity.• If this is true, it seems an expensive way of satisfying one's curiosity.• We too need to read the Bible in our hearts, rather than simply to discover facts or satisfy our curiosity.• You still haven't satisfied my curiosity.• Some came to seek the new power, some to chuckle, others to satisfy their curiosity.• Some of them I had never seen before and some were there to satisfy their curiosity.• If you want to satisfy your curiosity about Bob's girlfriend, you ring him yourself.curiosity value• They have a certain curiosity value, I suppose, but no merit otherwise. 