different between inventive vs curious

English

Etymology

From Middle English inventif, inventyfe, inventiff, inventyf, borrowed from Old French inventif, borrowed from Medieval Latin inventivus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?v?nt?v/
• Rhymes: -?nt?v

Adjective

inventive (comparative more inventive, superlative most inventive)

1. Of, or relating to invention; pertaining to the act of devising new mechanisms or processes.
   • 2013, Chris Bevan, "Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Arsenal", BBC Sport, 6 November 2013:

     At the other end, Dortmund were producing some typically inventive approach play but struggled to find a way through the visitors' defence, and were unable to find a finish when they did.

2. Possessed of a particular capacity for the design of new mechanisms or processes, creative or skilful at inventing.

3. Purposefully fictive

Derived terms

• inventively
• inventiveness

Translations

French

Adjective

inventive

1. feminine singular of inventif

Italian

Adjective

inventive

1. feminine plural of inventivo

Noun

inventive f pl

1. plural of inventiva

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English curious (“careful, meticulous; ingenious, skilful; expert, learned; concerned about (something); eager; curious, inquisitive; prying; carefully or skilfully made; exquisite, fine; sophisticated; recondite; magic or occult; absorbing, painstaking”) [and other forms], from Old French curios, curius (modern French curieux (“curious, inquisitive; interesting, quaint, unusual”)), and its etymon Latin c?ri?sus (“careful; complicated, elaborate; careworn; curious, inquisitive; meddlesome, prying”), from c?ra (“care, concern; anxiety; sorrow; attention; administration, management; command, office; guardianship”) (from Proto-Indo-European *k?eys- (“to heed”)) + -?sus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is cognate with Italian curioso (“curious, inquisitive”), Occitan curios, Portuguese curioso (“curious, inquisitive; odd, out of the ordinary”), Spanish curioso (“curious, inquisitive; interesting; odd, strange; quaint”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kj??.?i.?s/, /?kj??-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?kj?.?i.?s/, /?kj?.i.?s/
• Rhymes: -???i?s
• Hyphenation: cu?ri?ous

Adjective

curious (comparative more curious or curiouser, superlative most curious or curiousest)

1. Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.

   Synonyms: enquiring, inquiring; (obsolete) exquisitive; investigative; (rare) peery

   Antonyms: incurious, noncurious, uncurious
2. Caused by curiosity.
3. Leading one to ask questions about; somewhat odd, out of the ordinary, or unusual.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:strange

   Antonym: uncurious
4. (obsolete) Careful, fastidious, particular; (specifically) demanding a high standard of excellence, difficult to satisfy.
5. (obsolete) Carefully or artfully constructed; made with great elegance or skill.

Usage notes

The comparative and superlative forms curiouser and curiousest are regarded as informal or nonstandard.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

curi(um) +? -ous

Adjective

curious (not comparable)

1. (chemistry, rare) Containing or pertaining to trivalent curium.

References

Further reading

• curiosity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• curious (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia