Word.ws English Dictionary

marvel

Syllables: mar·velUK/ˈmɑːvəl//ˈmɑɹvəl/

marvel noun: that which causes wonder; a prodigy; a portent.

Noun

marvel (plural marvels)

  1. That which causes wonder; a prodigy; a portent.
    • The mysteries of this wonderful universe rise more palpable upon the departing spirit, so soon to mingle with their marvels.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 261
    • He found ways to film fiery, elaborate car-wrecks, keeping everything visually clear and beautiful without killing or even seriously injuring anyone. On a sheer technical level, the movie is a marvel.2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club
    Synonyms:
    lollapalooza
  2. (archaic) Wonder, astonishment.
    • No maruel though you bite so sharp at reasons,c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • You read not any where that Eſau had faith, no not ſo much as a little: Therefore no marvel, if where, the fleſh only bears ſway […]1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 171

Verb

marvel (third-person singular simple present marvels, present participle (US) marveling or (UK) marvelling, simple past and past participle (US) marveled or (UK) marvelled)

  1. (intransitive) To become filled with wonderment or admiration; to be amazed at something.
    • Marueile not, my brethren, if the world hate you.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 John 3:13, column 1
    • Men marvel at the works of man / And with unstinted praises sing / The greatness of some worldly thing / Encompassed during one life's span;1923, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Men marvel at the works of man”, in The Complete Poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 466
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To wonder at.
    • I maruell that her Grace did leaue it out.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • I maruell why I answer'd not againe,c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To cause to wonder or be surprised.
    • 15th century, Anonymous, Richard the Redeless
      But much now me marvelleth.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Marvel

Marvel (plural Marvels)

  1. A surname.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Marvel

Marvel

  1. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Marvel Comics.
  2. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Marvel Studios.
    • There’s the Thor fly in tribute of the God of Thunder, played in Marvel by Chris Hemsworth. Its scientific name is “Daptolestes bronteflavus,” which is derived from Latin like most scientific names – and translates to “blond thunder.”2020 July 29, Jessie Yeung, “Australia names new species after Deadpool, Thor, and other Marvel favorites”, in CNN
  3. (abbreviation, clipping) Clipping of Marvelverse

Examples of marvel in a sentence

  • They marveled at how the Shrinky Dinks could be so shrinky while preserving their form so beautifully.
  • Spacecraft are engineering marvels, designed to resist the thrust of liftoff, as well as the reverse pressure of the void.
  • The engineer marvelled at his construction.

All 40 example sentences with marvel

Synonyms of marvel

Forms of marvel

Noun
pluralmarvels
alternative formmarvail
alternative formmarvell
Verb
third-person singular presentmarvels
present participle USmarveling
present participle UKmarvelling
past participle USmarveled
past USmarveled
past participle UKmarvelled
past UKmarvelled
Proper noun
pluralMarvels

Plural of marvel: marvels

Origin of marvel

First attested from 1300, from Middle English merveile, from Old French merveille (“a wonder”), from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, from Latin mīrābilia (“wonderful things”), from neuter plural of mīrābilis (“strange, wonderful”), from mīror (“to wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”). Doublet of mirabilia.

From marvel, marvelous.

Words formed from marvel

Words that rhyme with marvel

Questions about marvel

What does marvel mean?
Marvel means that which causes wonder; a prodigy; a portent.
What part of speech is marvel?
Marvel can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce marvel?
Marvel is pronounced /ˈmɑːvəl/ (UK).
What is the plural of marvel?
The plural of marvel is marvels.

Words near marvel in the dictionary

  1. marvailed
  2. marvailing
  3. marvails
  4. Marvdasht
  5. marved
  6. marvel
  7. marvel grass
  8. marvel of Peru
  9. Marveldom
  10. marveled
  11. marveler

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: marvel (page history and authors); Marvel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-marvel.ogg.

Cite this entry: “marvel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/marvel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.