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curious people
fascinated people
interested people
concerned people
a curious situation
a peculiar situation
an intriguing situation
a mysterious situation
a fascinating situation
an interesting situation
a curious mixture
an unusual mixture
a strange mixture
a surprising mixture
a clever mixture
a bizarre mixture
a curious look
a peculiar look
a puzzled look
a suspicious look
an uncertain look
curious onlookers
nosy onlookers
enthralled onlookers
anxious onlookers
eager onlookers
inquisitive onlookers

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective curious contrast with its synonyms?

The words inquisitive and prying are common synonyms of curious. While all three words mean "interested in what is not one's personal or proper concern," curious, a neutral term, basically connotes an active desire to learn or to know.

children are curious about everything

When could inquisitive be used to replace curious?

The words inquisitive and curious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, inquisitive suggests impertinent and habitual curiosity and persistent quizzing.

dreaded the visits of their inquisitive relatives

When is prying a more appropriate choice than curious?

The synonyms prying and curious are sometimes interchangeable, but prying implies busy meddling and officiousness.

prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of curious But a curious pattern is emerging among the fringe-ocrats who are coming into power. Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025 Writing for The New York Times, Alex Marshall tells the curious story of his encounter with a certain Barry Joule, who claims to have a trove of sketches and paintings given to him by Francis Bacon not long before his death. The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 7 Mar. 2025 James Bond was front and center at the 2025 Academy Awards – and in a somewhat curious way. Colin Burnett, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025 The Carolina Panthers just completed their trip to the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, so fans are understandably curious about the lead-up to significant roster movement. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for curious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curious
Adjective
  • Disney’s live-action film has become so fraught with controversy that the premiere on March 15 will be scaled back and exclude pesky, inquisitive press from the red carpet.
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Cats, known for their mischievous and inquisitive nature, often develop peculiar habits, and this particular feline's nightly ritual has resonated with audiences.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • But a blinkered narrative coupled with misty-eyed aesthetic choices yield a strange and scattershot result.
    Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Yet even on the Right, setting policy based on birth rates might have seemed strange a few years ago, when the Republican Party was best known for its libertarian emphasis on free markets and economic growth.
    Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • As a result, Canadians have rejected American imports and issued other economic punishments in an unusual show of patriotism.
    Alex Harring, CNBC, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Network security also gets a significant upgrade with the help of AI. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) powered by AI monitor traffic in real time, can flag unusual patterns that might indicate a security breach.
    Kathleen Walch, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Those who are interested in learning more about Dollywood employment opportunities can visit dollywoodjobs.com.
    Robin Raven, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
  • But Sandhya isn’t interested in those kind of stories.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The esoteric will never sit completely comfortably in the mainstream, because that’s the point of it: to be unusual, bizarre, absurd.
    Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 18 Mar. 2025
  • The Big Read The Story Of Climate-Friendly Digital Bank Aspiration Just Got Stranger The fintech industry has seen its fair share of spectacular failures and bizarre plot twists in recent years.
    Alan Ohnsman, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Tornadoes were not uncommon at the time, as Missouri is often considered part of an area of the U.S. nicknamed Tornado Alley.
    Alex Gurley, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025
  • But, while the results might have given internet viewers a shock, these types of ultrasound pictures aren't uncommon.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • What happened was that all of this comedy spoken in Kansai-ben was understood nationwide as being funny.
    Ollie Barder, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
  • There’s a couple of really funny, kind of interesting, real stories about musical guests, or different folks at State Dinners who didn’t show up and were late or whatever.
    Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Yes and no, which is a really weird thing about me.
    Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2025
  • The weirdest thing about it relative to those older pre-M2 Airs is still the display notch, a small cutout at the top of the screen that houses the camera.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Curious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curious. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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