wonder

Syllables: won·derUK/ˈwʌndə/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈwɐndə/

wonder noun: a sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.

Noun (1)

wonder (countable and uncountable, plural wonders)

(uncountable) A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.
- And they knew that it was hee which ſate for almes at the beautifull gate of the Temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened vnto him.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 3:10, column 1
- All wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance.1781, Samuel Johnson, The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets
(countable) Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel.
- Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.
- That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
1. Fortunate circumstances.
  - That stay in the country did her wonders.
  - It's a wonder no-one saw me.
2. An astonishing and seemingly inexplicable turn of events.
  - The idea was so ridiculous that it's a wonder anyone went along with it.
3. A feat that demonstrates incredible finesse or skill, as if performed by magic.
  - Given the limited resources, he's really performed wonders.
4. Someone very talented at something, a genius.
  - He's a wonder at cooking.
5. (colloquial, sarcastic, following an adjective ending -less that typically has two syllables) A nominalizer that serves as a head noun for the preceding adjective, which together form a mocking or insulting epithet.
  - So the voiceless wonder speaks at last.
  - Well, I wanted to tell the brainless wonder what I thought of him.1931 May 4, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, “episode 971”, in AAmos 'n' Andy, McFarland, →ISBN, page 65
(UK, countable, informal) A mental pondering, a thought.
- Miss Paynter had a little wonder as to whether the man, as she called Mr. Lacy in her own mind, had ever been admitted to this room. She thought not.1934, Katharine Tynan, The house of dreams
(US, countable) A kind of donut; a cruller.

Verb

wonder (third-person singular simple present wonders, present participle wondering, simple past and past participle wondered)

(intransitive) To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel; often followed by at.
- He's married by now, I shouldn't wonder.
- […]I could not ſufficiently wonder at the Intrepidity of theſe diminutive Mortals,[…]1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s...
(intransitive, transitive) To ponder; to feel doubt and curiosity; to query in the mind.
- He wondered whether penguins could fly. She had wondered this herself sometimes.
- Has Jay gone fishing, I wonder?
Synonyms:

ponder

Noun (2) capitalized: Wonder

Wonder (plural Wonders)

Any of the Wonders of the World.

wonder meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

wonder in Hindi

something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel: आश्चर्य āścarya
sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity: आश्चर्य āścarya, विस्मय vismay
something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable: चमत्कार camatkār

wonder in Tamil

அதிசயம், அற்புதம், பிரமிப்பு, திகைப்பு, வியப்புறு, விந்தைப்படு

wonder in Urdu

wonder: عجوبہ ajūbā, عجائب ajāib, کرشمہ kariśma, آشچریہ āścarya

More languagesFewer languages

wonder in Bengali: আশ্চর্য, বিস্ময়, বিস্ময়করতা, বিস্ময়কর প্রাণী
wonder in Telugu: చిత్తరువు cittaruvu, వింత vinta, చోద్యము cōdyamu
wonder in Malayalam: വിസ്മയം vismayaṁ, അത്ഭുതം atbhutaṁ
wonder in Kannada: ವಿಸ್ಮಯ vismaya, ಮೋಹ mōha, ಅಕ್ಕಜ akkaja
wonder in Punjabi: ਹੈਰਤ hairat, ਕੌਤਕ kautak, سوچنا socṇā, ਸੋਚਣਾ socṇā
wonder in Gujarati: ગજબ gajab
wonder in Sanskrit: वपुष्या vapuṣyā́, आश्चर्य āścarya, विचित्र vicitra, चोद्य codya
wonder in Tagalog: paghanga, henyo
wonder in Arabic: عَجَب ʕajab, تَسَاءَلَ tasāʔala
wonder in Persian: شگفتی šegefti, شگفتیدن šegeftidan
wonder in Vietnamese: thắc mắc

Examples of wonder in a sentence

I was wondering what time the film was starting.
He was not a bad genealogist who said that Iris (the messenger of heaven) is the child of Thaumas (wonder).1871, Plato, Benjamin Jowett (translator), Theaetetus (section 155d)
Stuff your eyes with wonder […]live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds.1953, Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451:
'Where is the cheating dickless wonder?'2010 June 3, Shari Low, Temptation Street, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
Well, the chinless wonder in question broke out through a snatch squad and evaded capture as neatly as any field op in the Network.2012 July 9, Charles Stross, The Apocalypse Codex: Book 4 in The Laundry Files, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

All 40 example sentences with wonder

Synonyms of wonder

one
ponder

Forms of wonder

Noun
plural	wonders
alternative pronunciation-spelling	wonda
plural	Wonders
alternative form (obsolete)	wondre
Verb
third-person singular present	wonders
present participle	wondering
past participle	wondered
past	wondered
second-person singular present (archaic)	wonderest
second-person singular past (archaic)	wonderedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	wondereth

Past tense of wonder: wondered

Plural of wonder: wonders

Origin of wonder

From Middle English wonder, wunder, from Old English wundor (“wonder, miracle, marvel”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą. Cognate with Scots wunner (“wonder”), West Frisian wonder, wûnder (“wonder, miracle”), Dutch wonder (“miracle, wonder”), Low German wunner, wunder (“wonder”), German Wunder (“miracle, wonder”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish under (“wonder, miracle”), Faroese and Icelandic undur (“wonder”). The verb is from Middle English wondren, from Old English wundrian, which is from Proto-Germanic *wundrōną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wunnerje, West Frisian wûnderje, Dutch wonderen, German Low German wunnern, German wundern, Swedish undra, Icelandic undra. Via PIE cognate with English wish (see more).

Words formed from wonder

Phrases with wonder

Words that rhyme with wonder

2 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about wonder

What does wonder mean?: Wonder means a sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.
What is wonder in Hindi?: Wonder in Hindi is आश्चर्य (āścarya), विस्मय (vismay), चमत्कार (camatkār). See Wonder meaning in Hindi.
How do you use wonder in a sentence?: I was wondering what time the film was starting.
What part of speech is wonder?: Wonder can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce wonder?: Wonder is pronounced /ˈwʌndə/ (UK).
What is the plural of wonder?: The plural of wonder is wonders.

Words near wonder in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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

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