Synonyms for curious
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Strange — leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual
strange, odd, unusual, funny, peculiar, queer, weird, singular, rare, nice, extraordinary, bizarre, freaky, off-beat, remarkable, quaint, kooky informal, freakish, outlandish, unconventional, deviant, unearthly
2. Inquisitive — tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation)…
inquisitive, questioning, inquiring, enquiring UK, speculative, investigative, interrogative, peery rare, exquisitive dated
Other
searching, meddling, agape, overcurious rare
Definitions
- adj. 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.
- adj. 2
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.
- adj. 3
Caused by curiosity.
Related words
- Word family
- curiously curiousness curio curiosity
Choose the right word
Curious denotes a feeling, and inquisitive a habit. We are curious when we desire to learn something new; we are inquisitive when we set ourselves to gain it by inquiry or research.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- funny He told us such a funny story that we all laughed.
- strange Press the red button if something strange happens.
- unusual The study by Meyer and his colleagues was unusual.
- odd This elevator doesn't stop on odd-numbered floors.
- questioning Experts began questioning the project's viability.
- inquisitive She is inquisitive, but I like her none the worse.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| curious | rising | |
| funny | rising | |
| strange | rising | |
| unusual | steady | |
| odd | rising | |
| questioning | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- odd1
- 4 letters
- nice1, rare1, nosy2
- 5 letters
- funny2, weird1, queer1, kooky2, agape2, peery2
- 6 letters
- freaky2, quaint1, prying2, snoopy2
- 7 letters
- strange1, unusual4, bizarre2, deviant3
- 8 letters
- peculiar3, singular3, meddling3, freakish
- 9 letters
- searching2, inquiring4, unearthly3, enquiring
- 10 letters
- remarkable4, outlandish3
- 11 letters
- questioning3, speculative4, inquisitive4, exquisitive, overcurious
- 13 letters
- extraordinary6, investigative5, interrogative
- 14 letters
- unconventional5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (nosy2 = 2 syllables).