Definition of curiousnext
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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 The album is a curious document of a certain moment in college rock, the musical ecosystem built around boutique labels (often underwritten by majors, with lax oversight) and university radio stations (always DJed by enthusiastic undergrads, with no oversight). Dan Kois, Pitchfork, 17 May 2026 Stay curious, but do not float away from the details. Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2026 To that point, the most curious aspect about Koreeda’s latest film is that Kensuke Komoto (the mononymous Daigo, punchy and well-textured) and his architect wife Otone (Haruka Ayase) already seem to have achieved a certain degree of acceptance when the story begins. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 May 2026 Maduko’s curious hold over the top leaders of the system would have grown stronger. Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for curious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curious
Adjective
  • Elsa’s inquisitive presence almost instantly irritates Amalia, as the latter refuses to simply acquiesce to her relentless quizzing.
    Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 16 May 2026
  • The two share an inquisitive and child-like energy, turning heavy conversations about growing up broke, the solitude of incarceration, and desperate cries for attention, into something remarkably light.
    Malina Saval, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Adjective
  • The band played a rather strange/disturbing version of Happy Birthday, and Bilbo’s cake appeared before us.
    Gregg Kilday, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
  • One monitor shows guitarist Jonny Greenwood manipulating a strange electronic device exuding tangled wires; another loops footage of a burning building.
    Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 12 May 2026
Adjective
  • The Sun forms a cazimi with Mercury in Taurus in your 3rd House of Communication, illuminating messages, conversations, errands, and daily decisions with unusual clarity.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
  • The unusual move would allow the administration to bypass a public bidding process, relying on a deal for engineering services already underway at the White House.
    Sarah Blaskey, Washington Post, 14 May 2026
Adjective
  • That means viewership around such stuff is smaller, and the networks need to show that ads are reaching not the most people, but rather the most likely people to be interested in a bottle of soda, a specific kind of running shoe, or a new weight-loss drug.
    Michael Schneider, Variety, 15 May 2026
  • Scheffler wasn’t interested in this being his first time atop the leaderboard on Thursday at a major.
    Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2026
Adjective
  • That is pretty bizarre, given how fantastic both atmospheres have been throughout the playoffs.
    Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 17 May 2026
  • Rather than representing a bizarre evolutionary innovation unique to salamanders, regeneration may actually reflect an ancient trait that many vertebrates once possessed more broadly.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Adjective
  • All the craft is in humble service of a screenplay uncommon for its faith in the power of language and communication to transform and to console.
    Jessica Kiang, Variety, 15 May 2026
  • The Sun forms a cazimi with Mercury in Taurus in your 1st House of Self, helping your words, choices, and presence align with uncommon clarity.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
Adjective
  • But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying -- and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
    Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
  • But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
    Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
Adjective
  • Jon Rahm is one of the best handful of golfers in the world, and, in media availability and his infrequent YouTube golf appearances, is thoughtful, funny and personable.
    Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
  • Semple’s writing is warm and absurdly funny but also occasionally devastating—as when, roughly midway through the book, Adora digresses into recalling her experiences writing for a comedy show in the 1990s.
    The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Curious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curious. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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