Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: curios, from Latin curiosus 'careful, wanting to know', from cura; CURE1

curious

 adjective
     
cu‧ri‧ous S3
1 wanting 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 strange or unusual:
He felt a curious mixture of excitement and panic.
a curious coincidence
It's curious that she left without saying goodbye.
—curiously adverb:
'What have you got in there?' Felix asked curiously.
She felt curiously calm.
WORD FOCUS: interested WORD FOCUS: interested
similar words: intrigued, curious, absorbed
very interested: fascinated, engrossed, enthralled, spellbound

➔ See also interested
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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