curiosity

1 an eager desire to find out about things that are often none of one's business <our neighbor's curiosity about what we were doing last night was really offensive> Synonyms curiousness, inquisitiveness, nosiness Related Words attentiveness, concern, interest, regard, wonderment; inquiry, interrogation, prying, questioning; interference, intrusiveness, meddlesomeness, obtrusiveness, officiousness; eavesdropping, rubbernecking Near Antonyms apathy, disinterestedness, disregard, indifference, unconcern Antonyms incuriosity, incuriousness

2 something strange or unusual that is an object of interest <the museum's curiosities include items constructed entirely out of toothpicks> Synonyms curio, exotic, objet d'art (also objet), oddity, oddment, rarity Related Words found object, objet trouvé; curiosa, ephemera, virtu (or vertu); marvel, prodigy, rara avis, rare bird, wonder; abnormality, anomaly, freak, monster, monstrosity; malformation, mutant, mutation

3 a small object displayed for its attractiveness or interest <an assortment of curiosities from around the world that the family picked up during various vacations> Synonyms bauble, bibelot, curio, knickknack, doodad, gaud, gewgaw (also geegaw), gimcrack, kickshaw, novelty, ornamental, tchotchke, trinketRelated Words bijouterie, bric-a-brac, gimcrackery, trinketry, trumpery, virtu (or vertu); bagatelle, trifle; figurine, objet d'art (also objet), ornament; keepsake, memento, souvenir; conversation piece; collectible (or collectable), collector's item

4 an odd or peculiar habit <Charles Dickens typically endowed his characters with an array of endearing curiosities> Synonyms crotchet, idiosyncrasy, eccentricity, erraticism, individualism, kink, mannerism, oddity, peculiarity, quiddity, quip, quirk, singularity, tic, trick, twistRelated Words affectation, airs; attribute, characteristic, mark, property, trait; custom, habit, pattern, practice (also practise), way, wont; addiction; abnormality, neuroticism, perversion, weirdness; disposition, genius, leaning, partiality; bent, inclination, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turn; attitude, character, humor, identity, individuality, nature, personality, temperamentNear Antonyms conformity, sameness