Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you are ~ about something, you are interested in it and want to know more about it.
Steve was intensely ~ about the world I came from...
...a group of ~ villagers.
= inquisitive
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about n
~ly
The woman in the shop had looked at them ~ly...
ADV: ADV after v
2.
If you describe something as ~, you mean that it is unusual or difficult to understand.
The pageant promises to be a ~ mixture of the ancient and modern...
The naval high command’s response to these developments is rather ~.
= odd, peculiar
ADJ
~ly
Harry was ~ly silent through all this...
ADV: ADV adj, ADV with cl