Dictionary / curious
curious
- adjective
- from Old French
Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “curious” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
adjective · etymology 1
- Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
Young children are naturally curious about the world and everything in it.
- Caused by curiosity.
Such is the uneven State of human Life: And it afforded me a great many curious Speculations afterwards, when I had a little recovered my first surprise.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 185:
- Leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual.
The platypus is a curious creature, with fur like a mammal and a beak like a bird.
- in compoundsInterested in entering a romantic or sexual relationship with a specified group.
On the app I’d ultimately go with, I presented myself truthfully, as a Republican-curious woman tired of the Democrats’ hopelessness and constant pivoting during a highly charged election year.2025 February 18, Vera Papisova, “I Spent Nearly a Year on a Conservative Dating App as a Liberal—Here’s What I Learned”, in Cosmopolitan:
Older & obsolete senses (2)
- obsoleteCareful, fastidious, particular; (specifically) demanding a high standard of excellence, difficult to satisfy.
- obsoleteCarefully or artfully constructed; made with great elegance or skill.
adjective · etymology 2
- not comparablerareContaining or pertaining to trivalent curium.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
- adjectivebeyond or deviating from the usual or expected — also: funny, odd, peculiar, queer, rum
- adjectiveeager to investigate and learn or learn more (sometimes about others' concerns)
- adjectivehaving curiosity aroused; eagerly interested in learning more
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
Etymology 1 (adjective)
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)curious
- Middle Englishcurious
- Old Frenchcurius
- Latincūriōsus
From Middle English curious, from Old French curius, from Latin cūriōsus. The English word is cognate with Italian curioso, Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso, and Spanish curioso. Displaced native Old English firwitġeorn.
Etymology 2 (adjective)
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)curious
- Englishcuri (um) + -ous
From curi(um) + -ous.
Derivatives — words built from “curious”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “curious” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “curious” came from before it was English.
Etymology 1 (adjective)
Etymology 2 (adjective)
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “curious”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
curious a. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact.
- Exhibiting care or nicety; artfully constructed; elaborate; wrought with elegance or skill.
- Careful or anxious to learn; eager for knowledge; given to research or inquiry; habitually inquisitive; prying; -- sometimes with after or of.
- Exciting attention or inquiry; awakening surprise; inviting and rewarding inquisitiveness; not simple or plain; strange; rare.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
adjectiveMeaning: Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
Young children are naturally curious about the world and everything in it.
George is a little monkey, / and all monkeys are curious. / But no monkey / is as curious as George. / That is why his name is / Curious George.1958, Margret Rey, Curious George Flies a Kite, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, →ISBN, page 3:
adjectiveMeaning: Caused by curiosity.
Such is the uneven State of human Life: And it afforded me a great many curious Speculations afterwards, when I had a little recovered my first surprise.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 185:
The doctor heard him, faced around, and stood waiting, a curious expression settling on his harsh, medicinal face as Mr. Button drew near.1922 May 27, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, in Tales of the Jazz Age, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published September 1922, →OCLC, part I, page 193:
adjectiveMeaning: Leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual.
The platypus is a curious creature, with fur like a mammal and a beak like a bird.
"But the curiousest thing a'most as I ever see at sea," resumed the mate, with an air of abstraction, and filling himself another glass of grog—"a'most the curiousest thing I ever see was when I was a coming home from Quebec in the old Jane— [...]"1851, [William Henry Gregory], chapter II, in A Transport Voyage to the Mauritius and back; […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 90, column 1:
adjectiveMeaning: Interested in entering a romantic or sexual relationship with a specified group.
On the app I’d ultimately go with, I presented myself truthfully, as a Republican-curious woman tired of the Democrats’ hopelessness and constant pivoting during a highly charged election year.2025 February 18, Vera Papisova, “I Spent Nearly a Year on a Conservative Dating App as a Liberal—Here’s What I Learned”, in Cosmopolitan:
adjectiveMeaning: beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
a curious hybrid accent
adjectiveMeaning: eager to investigate and learn or learn more (sometimes about others' concerns)
a curious child is a teacher's delight
a trap door that made me curious
adjectiveMeaning: having curiosity aroused; eagerly interested in learning more
a trap door that made me curious
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
curious
/ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əs/ · cu·ri·ous
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
curious
/ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əs/ · cu·ri·ous · adjective
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “curious” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“Young children are naturally curious about the world and everything in it.”
Circle the meaning used.
“The platypus is a curious creature, with fur like a mammal and a beak like a bird.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “curious” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — curious
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
Which meaning, sentence 2: C. Leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual.
Origin: A. Old French (Old French curius)
Journey: English curious ← Middle English curious ← Old French curius ← Latin cūriōsus
Some derivatives: bi-curious, bicurious, curiously, curiousness, epicurious, homocurious, indy-curious, noncurious
Etymology: From Middle English curious, from Old French curius, from Latin cūriōsus. The English word is cognate with Italian curioso, Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso, and Spanish curioso. Displaced native Old English firwitġeorn.
Sources: Wiktionary “curious” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/curious#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/curious