SG Heritage Dictionary

Curiosity [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. A strong desire to see something novel, or to discover something unknown, either by research or inquiry; a desire to gratify the senses with a sight of what is new or unusual, or to gratify the mind with new discoveries; inquisitiveness. A mans curiosity leads him to view the ruins of Balbec, to investigate the origin of Homer, to discover the component parts of a mineral, or the motives of anothers actions.

2. Nicety; delicacy.

3. Accuracy; exactness; nice performance; curiousness; as the curiosity of workmanship.

4. A nice experiment; a thing unusual or worthy of curiosity

5. There hath been practiced a curiosity to set a tree on the north side of a walk and at a little height, to draw it through the wall, etc.

6. An object of curiosity; that which excites a desire of seeing, or deserves to be seen, as novel and extraordinary.

7. We took a ramble together to see the curiosities of this great town.

8. [The first and last senses are chiefly used.]

Curiosity [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The state or quality or being curious; nicety; accuracy; exactness; elaboration.

2. Disposition to inquire, investigate, or seek after knowledge; a desire to gratify the mind with new information or objects of interest; inquisitiveness.

3. That which is curious, or fitted to excite or reward attention.

Unconformity Roget’s Thesaurus §83

N. {opp. 82} nonconformity, unconformity, disconformity, unconventionality, informality, abnormity, abnormality, anomaly, anomalousness, exception, peculiarity, infraction of law, breach, of law, violation of law, violation of custom, violation of usage, infringement of law, infringement of custom, infringement of usage, teratism, eccentricity, bizarrerie, oddity, je ne sais quoi, monster, monstrosity, rarity, freak, freak of nature, weirdo, mutant, rouser, snorter*, individuality, idiosyncrasy, originality, mannerism, aberration, irregularity, variety, singularity, exemption, salvo, nonconformist, nondescript, character, original, nonesuch, nonsuch, monster, prodigy, wonder, miracle, curiosity, flying fish, black sheep, black swan, lusus naturae, rara avis, queer fish, mongrel, random breed, half-caste, half-blood, half-breed, metis, crossbreed, hybrid, mule, hinny, mulatto, tertium quid, hermaphrodite, phoenix, chimera, hydra, sphinx, minotaur, griffin, griffon, centaur, saggittary, kraken, cockatrice, wyvern, roc, dragon, sea serpent, mermaid, merman, merfolk, unicorn, cyclops, "men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders", teratology, fish out of water, neither one thing nor another, neither fish nor fowl, neither fish flesh nor fowl nor good red herring, one in a million, one in a way, one in a thousand, outcast, outlaw, off the beaten track, oasis

V. be uncomformable, abnormalize, leave the beaten track, leave the beaten path, infringe a law, infringe a habit, infringe a usage, infringe a custom, break a law, break a habit, break a usage, break a custom, violate a law, violate a habit, violate a usage, violate a custom, drive a coach and six through, stretch a point, have no business there, baffle all description, beggar all description

Adj. uncomformable, exceptional, abnormal, abnormous, anomalous, anomalistic, out of order, out of place, out of keeping, out of tune, out of one's element, irregular, arbitrary, teratogenic, lawless, informal, aberrant, stray, wandering, wanton, peculiar, exclusive, unnatural, eccentric, egregious, out of the beaten track, off the beaten track, out of the common, out of the common run, beyond the pale of, out of the pale of, misplaced, funny, unusual, unaccustomed, uncustomary, unwonted, uncommon, rare, curious, odd, extraordinary, out of the ordinary, strange, monstrous, wonderful, unexpected, unaccountable, outre, out of the way, remarkable, noteworthy, queer, quaint, nondescript, none such, sui generis, unfashionable, fantastic, grotesque, bizarre, outlandish, exotic, tombe des nues, preternatural, denaturalized, heterogeneous, heteroclite, amorphous, mongrel, amphibious, epicene, half blood, hybrid, androgynous, androgynal, asymmetric, adelomorphous, bisexual, hermaphrodite, monoclinous, qualified, singular, unique, one-of-a-kind, newfangled, novel, non-classical, original, unconventional, unheard of, unfamiliar, undescribed, unprecedented, unparalleled, unexampled

Adv. unconformably, except, unless, save barring, beside, without, save and except, let alone, however, yet, but, once in a blue moon, once in a million years

Phr. never was seen the like, never was heard the like, never was known the like, i could hardly believe it, i saw it, but i didn't believe it, 1, number, in the abstract

Int. what on earth, what in the world, what the devil, holy cow, can you top that?, sacre bleu

Curiosity Roget’s Thesaurus §455

N. interest, thirst for knowledge, thirst for truth, curiosity, curiousness, inquiring mind, inquisitiveness, omnivorous intellect, devouring mind, inquirer, sightseer, quidnunc, newsmonger, paul pry, eavesdropper, gossip, rubberneck, intellectual, seeker, seeker after truth

V. be curious, take an interest in, stare, gape, prick up the ears, see sights, lionize, pry, nose, rubberneck*

Adj. curious, inquisitive, burning with curiosity, overcurious, inquiring, prying, snoopy, nosy, peering, prurient, inquisitorial, inquisitory, curious as a cat, agape

Phr. what's the matter? what next? consumed with curiosity, curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back, "curiouser and curiouser"

Expectation Roget’s Thesaurus §507

N. expectation, expectance, expectancy, anticipation, reckoning, calculation, foresight, contemplation, prospection, lookout, prospect, perspective, horizon, vista, destiny, suspense, waiting, abeyance, curiosity, anxious expectation, ardent expectation, eager expectation, breathless expectation, sanguine expectation, torment of tantalus, hope, trust, auspices, assurance, confidence, presumption, reliance

V. expect, look for, look out for, look forward to, hope for, anticipate, have in prospect, have in contemplation, keep in view, contemplate, promise oneself, not wonder at, not wonder if, wait for, tarry for, lie in wait for, watch for, bargain for, keep a good lookout for, keep a sharp lookout for, await, stand at "attention," abide, bide one's time, watch, foresee, prepare for, forestall, count upon, think likely, lead one to expect, have in store for, prick up one's ears, hold one's breath

Adj. expectant, expecting, in expectation, on the watch, open-eyed, open-mouthed, in wide-eyed anticipation, agape, gaping, all agog, on tenterhooks, on tiptoe, on the tiptoe of expectation, aux aguets, ready, curious, looking forward to, expected, long expected, foreseen, in prospect, prospective, in one's eye, in one's view, in the horizon, on the horizon, just over the horizon, just around the corner, around the corner, impending

Adv. on the watch, with breathless expectation, with bated breath, with rapt anticipation, arrectis auribus

Phr. we shall see, nous verrons, "expectation whirls me round", the light at the end of the tunnel

Prodigy Roget’s Thesaurus §872

N. prodigy, phenomenon, wonder, wonderment, marvel, miracle, monster, curiosity, lion, sight, spectacle, jeu de theatre, coup de theatre, gazingstock, sign, st. elmo's fire, st. elmo's light, portent, bursting of a shell, bursting of a bomb, volcanic eruption, peal of thunder, thunder-clap, thunder-bolt, what no words can paint, wonders of the world, annus mirabilis, dignus vindice nodus

Phr. natura il fece e poi roppe la stampa, 5, extrinsic affections