Meanings
comparative more wondrous · superlative most wondrous · alternative wonderous
- Wonderful; amazing, inspiring awe; marvelous.
We all stared open-mouthed at the wondrous sight.
2 more examples
I'll show thee the best springs; I'll pluck thee berries; / I'll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough. / A plague upon the tyrant that I serve! / I'll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee, / Thou wondrous man.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]VVhen I ſurvey the vvondrous Croſs / VVhere the young Prince of Glory dy'd, / My richeſt Gain I count but Loſs, / And pour Contempt on all my Pride.
1707, I[saac] Watts, “Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ; Gal[atians] 6. 14. [When I Survey the Wondrous Cross]”, in Hymns and Spiritual Songs. […], London: […] J. Humfreys, for John Lawrence, […], →OCLC, book III (Prepared for the Holy Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper), stanza 1, page 189Synonyms: awesome, based, beat, beatific, bewildering, blissful, celestial, delightful
comparative more wondrous · superlative most wondrous · alternative wonderous
- In a wonderful degree; remarkably; wondrously.
And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 532 more examples
[…]And even there, his eye being big with tears, / Turning his face, he put his hand behind him, / And with affection wondrous sensible / He [Antonio] wrung Bassanio's hand; and so they parted.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene viii]As by the dead we love to sit, / Become so wondrous dear, / As for the lost we grapple, / Though all the rest are here,—
a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “As by the dead we love to sit”, in Mabel Loomis Todd and T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson, editors, Poems, Second Series, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1891, page 193
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWonderful; amazing, inspiring awe; marvelous.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveextraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
adverb(used as an intensifier) excellently
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*wundrą“wonder”
- Old Englishwundres“of wonder”
- Middle Englishwonders“wondrous, wonderful”
- Middle Englishwondrous
- Englishwondrous
From Middle English wondrous, alteration after the suffix -ous of Middle English wonders (“wondrous, wonderful”, adjective), from Old English wundres (“of wonder”), genitive singular of wundor (“wonder, miracle”), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą (“wonder”). Compare Dutch wonder, German Wunder.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian удивителен, изумителен
- удивителен (udivitelen)amazing, inspiring awe
- изумителен (izumitelen)amazing, inspiring awe
Catalan meravellós
- meravellósamazing, inspiring awe
Esperanto mirinda
- mirindaamazing, inspiring awe
Finnish ihmeellinen, vaikuttava
- ihmeellinenamazing, inspiring awe
- vaikuttavaamazing, inspiring awe
French merveilleux
- merveilleuxamazing, inspiring awe
German wunderbar, wundersam
- wunderbaramazing, inspiring awe
- wundersamamazing, inspiring awe
- erstaunlichamazing, inspiring awe
- verwunderlichamazing, inspiring awe
- bemerkenswertremarkably
Greek θαυμάσιος
- θαυμάσιος (thavmásios)amazing, inspiring awe
Hebrew פִּלְאִי
- פִּלְאִי (pil'í)amazing, inspiring awe
Italian meraviglioso
- meravigliosoamazing, inspiring awe
Latin mirabilis
- mirabilisamazing, inspiring awe
Māori whakamīharo, autaia
- whakamīharoamazing, inspiring awe
- autaiaamazing, inspiring awe
Norwegian underfull, vidunderlig
- underfullamazing, inspiring awe
- vidunderligamazing, inspiring awe
Portuguese maravilhoso
- maravilhosoamazing, inspiring awe
Romanian minunat, remarcabil
- minunatamazing, inspiring awe
- remarcabilremarkably
Russian изуми́тельный, порази́тельный
- изуми́тельный (izumítelʹnyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- порази́тельный (porazítelʹnyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- удиви́тельный (udivítelʹnyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- чуде́сный (čudésnyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- дивный (divnyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- невиданный (nevidannyj)amazing, inspiring awe
- удиви́тельно (udivítelʹno)remarkably
Spanish maravilloso
- maravillosoamazing, inspiring awe
Cite this entry
wondrous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wondrous
“wondrous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wondrous. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wondrous,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wondrous.
Source: wondrous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.