Curious Meaning
/ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjTending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
adjCaused by curiosity.
Sentence Examples
"What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." "I have no idea."
A curious disease struck the town.
He is such a curious boy
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ child asked why the sky turns orange at sunset.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The child was always ____ about how things worked, constantly asking questions and exploring.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I was ſo curious likewiſe as to goe to the place, where it is ſaid the great tower of Babel was built, being about halfe a days iourney diſtant; where I ſawe nothing but a high mountaine of earth in the midſt of a plaine where in digging you may finde certaine bricks, whereof it is ſaide the tower is built."
— 1615, [Henri de Feynes, Comte de Monfart], translated by [Jean Loiseau de Tourval], An Exact and Cvriovs Survey of All the East Indies, euen to Canton, the Chiefe Cittie of China: All Duly Performed by Land, by Monsieur de Monfart, the Like whereof was Neuer hetherto, Brought to an End. […] Newly Translated out of the Trauailers Manuscript, London: Printed by Thomas Dawson, for VVilliam Arondell, […], →OCLC, pages 7–8:
"I shall quit your vessel on the ice raft which brought me thither and shall seek the most northern extremity of the globe; I shall collect my funeral pile, and consume to ashes this miserable frame, that its remains may afford no light to any curious and unhallowed wretch, who would create such another as I have been."
— 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter VII, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 189:
"Jack Bradshaw, the leader of the Owl Patrol of the Redscar Scouts, strode to the dry stone wall bounding the cliff path, and drew from between the stones a ball of crumpled paper. He was curious as to why it had been placed there—where it could not have lodged accidentally—and he smoothed it out. He found it to be pencilled over with figures, like a scrap that had been used to reckon on."
— 1915 January, W. Jay, “The Answering Owl. A Tale of an East Coast Spy.”, in The Boy’s Own Paper, volume XXXVIII, part I, London: “Boy’s Own Paper” Office, […], →OCLC, chapter II, page 17, column 1:
"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:
"I know that not everyone feels like they are naturally curious—or bold enough to ask about someone's shoes. But here's the secret: that doesn't matter. You can use curiosity even if you don't think of yourself as instinctively curious."
— 2015, Brian Grazer, Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 58:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ child asked why the sky turns orange at sunset.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The child was always ____ about how things worked, constantly asking questions and exploring.