wonder

(wŭn'dər)
n.

1. 1. One that arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration; a marvel: "The decision of one age or country is a wonder to another" (John Stuart Mill).
   2. The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring, astounding, or marvelous: gazed with wonder at the northern lights.
2. An event inexplicable by the laws of nature; a miracle.
3. A feeling of puzzlement or doubt.
4. often Wonder A monumental human creation regarded with awe, especially one of seven monuments of the ancient world that appeared on various lists of late antiquity.

v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.

v.intr.

1. 1. To have a feeling of awe or admiration; marvel: "She wondered at all the things civilization can teach a woman to endure" (Frances Newman).
   2. To have a feeling of surprise.
2. To be filled with curiosity or doubt.

v.tr.
To feel curiosity or be in doubt about: wondered what happened.

adj.

1. 1. Arousing awe or admiration.
   2. Wonderful.
2. Far superior to anything formerly recognized or foreseen.

idiom:

for a wonder

1. As a cause for surprise; surprisingly.

[Middle English, from Old English wundor.]

wonderer won'der·er n.

SYNONYMS   wonder, marvel, miracle, phenomenon, prodigy, sensation. These nouns denote one that evokes amazement or admiration: saw the wonders of Paris; a marvel of modern technology; a miracle of culinary art; a phenomenon of medical science; a musical prodigy; the theatrical sensation of the season.

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is followed by whether or if, and in more formal writing can take a subjunctive verb in the past:

Hilliard wondered whether Barton were not right after all—Susan Hill, 1971

They had never had a serious conversation, and she wondered if that were wrong—Anita Brookner, 1992.

In general contexts, however, an ordinary verb is normal:

She wondered if I was free to have dinner at her house—C. McCarry, 1977.

For the type I shouldn't wonder if...see not ⁵.

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noun

1. One that evokes great surprise and admiration: astonishment, marvel, miracle, phenomenon, prodigy, sensation, stunner, wonderment. Idioms: one for the books, the eighth wonder of the world. See good/bad.
2. The emotion aroused by something awe-inspiring or astounding: amaze, amazement, astonishment, awe, marvel, wonderment. Archaic admiration, dread. See excite/bore/interest, feelings.
3. An event inexplicable by the laws of nature: miracle. See supernatural.
4. A lack of conviction or certainty: doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, incertitude, mistrust, question, skepticism, suspicion, uncertainty. See certain/uncertain.

verb

1. To have a feeling of great awe and rapt admiration: marvel. See excite/bore/interest, feelings.
2. To be uncertain, disbelieving, or skeptical about: distrust, doubt, misdoubt, mistrust, question. Idioms: have one's doubts. See certain/uncertain.

Idioms beginning with wonder:
wonders will never cease

In addition to the idiom beginning with wonder, also see for a wonder; no wonder; work wonders.

n

Definition: amazement
Antonyms: expectation

v

Definition: be amazed
Antonyms: anticipate, expect

v

Definition: doubt; ponder
Antonyms: believe, know

n. (usually ninety-day or thirty-day wonder) a person who has had intensive military training for the specified time.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To be curious about.

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world any more. There is always something to make you wonder, in the shape of a leaf, the trembling of a tree. — Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), French philosopher.

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sign description: The index finger makes a small circle near the forehead.

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Quotes:

"It was through the feeling of wonder that men now and at first began to philosophize." - Aristotle

"Wonder is the basis of worship." - Thomas Carlyle

"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - Gilbert K. Chesterton

"Men love to wonder and that is the seed of our science." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder." - M. C. Escher

"Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge." - Abraham J. Heschel

See more famous quotes about Wonder

For a list of words related to wonder, see:

• Affectionate Reference
• Respectful or Admiring Reference
• Thinking, Judgment, and Consideration - wonder: think or speculate curiously or doubtfully; ponder over
• Mystical States and Experiences - wonder: state of delight, marvel, mystery, or surprise coupled with admiration

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See words rhyming with "wonderer."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Wonder.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - under, vidunder, underværker, mirakel
v. intr. - forundret
v. tr. - undres, forundre sig, undre sig over, spekulere på
adj. - forunderlig, vidunderlig

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    hurtigt glemt sensation, døgnflue
• do wonders for    gøre underværker for
• no wonder    ikke underligt
• wonder drug    vidundermiddel
• work wonders    gøre underværker

Nederlands (Dutch)
benieuwen, zich afvragen, verbaasd zijn, verwonderen, wonder, verbazing, bevreemding geen wonder dat

Français (French)
n. - merveille, miracle, surprise, merveilles, prodiges de, émerveillement
v. intr. - penser/songer à qch, s'étonner de qch, s'émerveiller de qch
v. tr. - se demander (si, pourquoi), s'étonner
adj. - émerveillé, merveilleux, miracle (remède)

idioms:

• a nine days' wonder    merveille d'un jour
• a nine-day wonder    la merveille d'un jour
• do wonders    faire des merveilles
• no wonder    pas étonnant, guère étonnant
• wonder drug    médicament miracle
• work wonders    faire merveille

Deutsch (German)
v. - sich wundern, staunen, sich fragen
n. - Wunder, etwas Wunderbares, Verwunderung, Staunen
adj. - Wunder...

idioms:

• a nine days' wonder    (ugs.) Eintagsfliege
• a nine-day wonder    kurzlebige Sensation
• do wonders    Wunder tun
• no wonder    kein Wunder
• wonder drug    Wunderheilmittel, Wunderarznei
• work wonders    Wunder wirken

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - απορώ, αναρωτιέμαι, διερωτώμαι
n. - (εκστατικός) θαυμασμός, κατάπληξη, απορία, θαύμα

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    πρόσκαιρος εντυπωσιασμός
• do wonders for    κάνω θαύματα
• no wonder    δεν είναι απορίας άξιον το ότι, πολύ φυσικό να
• wonder drug    θαυματουργό φάρμακο
• work wonders    κάνω θαύματα

Italiano (Italian)
chiedersi, meravigliarsi, meraviglia

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    un fuoco di paglia
• no/little/small wonder    non c'è da stupirsi
• wonder drug    cura miracolosa
• work/do wonders    fare meraviglie

Português (Portuguese)
v. - surpreender-se, querer saber
n. - milagre (m), maravilha (f)

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    um prodígio
• no/little/small wonder    não é de admirar que...
• wonder drug    medicamento novo eficaz (m)
• work/do wonders    fazer milagres

Русский (Russian)
чудо, нечто удивительное, изумление, благоговение, сомнение, неуверенность, интересоваться, задавать (себе) вопрос, сомневаться, изумляться, восхищаться

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    злоба дня, кратковременная сенсация
• no/little/small wonder    нет ничего удивительного в том, что...
• wonder drug    чудодейственное лекарство
• work/do wonders    творить чудеса

Español (Spanish)
n. - milagro, maravilla, prodigio, admiración, asombro
v. intr. - preguntarse, admirarse, asombrarse
v. tr. - admirar, maravillarse de
adj. - prodigio, maravilloso, milagroso

idioms:

• a nine days' wonder    durar muy poco, ser efímero, dura lo que un suspiro
• a nine-day wonder    que dura muy poco, evento que despierta un interés efímero
• do wonders    hacer milagros
• no wonder    no tiene nada de extraño
• wonder drug    medicamento milagroso, droga milagrosa
• work wonders    hacer milagros

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - undra, förundra sig
n. - under, förundran

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
奇迹, 惊愕, 惊奇, 惊讶, 怀疑, 想知道, 非凡的, 奇妙的

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    轰动一时便被遗忘的事物, 昙花一现的事物
• do wonders for    为...创奇迹
• no wonder    不足为奇的
• wonder drug    特效药
• work wonders    创造奇迹, 产生奇妙的作用

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 奇跡, 驚愕, 驚奇
v. intr. - 驚訝, 懷疑
v. tr. - 驚奇, 想知道
adj. - 非凡的, 奇妙的

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    轟動一時便被遺忘的事物, 曇花一現的事物
• do wonders for    為...創奇蹟
• no wonder    不足為奇的
• wonder drug    特效藥
• work wonders    創造奇蹟, 產生奇妙的作用

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 불가사의, 경탄, 불가사의한 물건
v. intr. - 놀라다, 의아하게 여기다
v. tr. - ~을 이상하게 여기다, ~가 아닐까 생각하다
adj. - 멋진, 경이로운, 마력이 있는

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    경탄하여
• do wonders for    ~에게 매우 도움이 되다
• work wonders    세상을 놀라게 하다, 크게 성공하다, (약 따위가) 매우 잘 듣다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 驚き, 驚くべきもの
v. - 驚く, …かしらと思う, 疑う, 怪しむ

idioms:

• a nine-day wonder    すぐ忘れられる事柄
• no/little/small wonder    当然のこと
• wonder drug    特効薬
• work/do wonders    奇跡を起こす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يذهل, يعجب, يتعجب, يتساءل (الاسم) العجب, مثير الدهش, معجزة, أعجوبه, عجيبه, تعجب, دهش, شك, حيرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התפלאות, השתאות, פליאה, תמיהה, פלא, נס‬
v. intr. - ‮התפלא, השתאה, תמה, שאל עצמו, חפץ לדעת, הסתקרן‬
v. tr. - ‮התפלא, השתאה, תמה, שאל עצמו, חפץ לדעת, הסתקרן‬
adj. - ‮מעורר יראת-כבוד או הערצה, נפלא, עולה בהרבה על כל מה שהכיר או ראה קודם‬

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