wonder

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wonder^¹

/ˈwʌndə/ UK
[ˈwʌ̹ndə] UK
/ˈwɐndə/ Australia, New Zealand
[ˈwɐ̞ndə] Australia, New Zealand
/ˈwʊndə/ Northern England
/ˈwʌndɚ/ US
[ˈwʌ̈ndɚ] ~ [ˈwʌ̈ndɹ̩] US
/ˈwʌndəɹ/ Scotland
[ˈwʌndəɹ] Scotland

Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

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).

noun wonders · wonda · wondre

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.
countable Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel. Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.
countable, uncountable Fortunate circumstances. That stay in the country did her wonders.
countable, uncountable An astonishing and seemingly inexplicable turn of events. The idea was so ridiculous that it's a wonder anyone went along with it.
countable, uncountable A feat that demonstrates incredible finesse or skill, as if performed by magic. Given the limited resources, he's really performed wonders.
countable, uncountable Someone very talented at something, a genius. He's a wonder at cooking.
colloquial, countable, sarcastic, uncountable 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.
Similar: one
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.
US, countable A kind of donut; a cruller.

verb wonders · wondering · wondered · wonder

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.
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.
Similar: ponder

Wonder^²

noun Wonders

Any of the Wonders of the World.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: wonderment, marvel, admiration, curiosity, question, inquire, amazing, admire, wonderful, urge, amazement, astonishment, oddity, awe, surprise, beauty

Translations

Every language

noun something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel

Español	maravilla, portento
한국어	놀라움 nollaum, 경이 gyeong'i
日本語	驚異 kyōi
中文	奇跡 /奇迹 qíjī, 奧妙 /奥妙 àomiào
हिन्दी	आश्चर्य āścarya
Kiswahili	maajabu
Português	maravilha
Français	merveille
Deutsch	Wunder, Mirakel
Italiano	meraviglia
Ελληνικά	θαύμα thávma
Română	minune, mirare
Русский	чу́до čúdo, ди́во dívo
العربية	عَجَب ʕajab
עברית	פֶּלֶא pele

noun sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity

Español	asombro, pasmo
日本語	驚嘆 kyōtan
中文	敬畏 jìngwèi, 驚奇 /惊奇 jīngqí
हिन्दी	आश्चर्य āścarya, विस्मय vismay
Русский	удивле́ние udivlénije

noun something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable

Español	maravilla, milagro
한국어	기적 gijeok
हिन्दी	चमत्कार camatkār
Português	maravilha
Ελληνικά	θαύμα thávma
Română	minune
Русский	чу́до čúdo

noun someone very talented at something, a genius

Español	genio, maravilla
한국어	천재 cheonjae, 기인 giin
中文	天才 tiāncái
Português	maravilha, genial
Ελληνικά	θαύμα thávma, ταλέντο talénto, αστέρι astéri

noun informal: thought

Español	pensamiento
Kiswahili	maajabu
Português	pensamento
Ελληνικά	απορία aporía
Русский	интере́с interés

verb to be affected with surprise

Español	maravillarse, sorprenderse
한국어	놀라다 nollada
Français	s'étonner, être étonné
Deutsch	sich wundern
Ελληνικά	θαυμάζω thavmázo, μένω έκθαμβος méno ékthamvos
Русский	удивля́ться udivljátʹsja
עברית	הִתְפַּלֵּא hitpalé

verb to ponder about something

Español	preguntarse, ponderar, querer saber
한국어	의심하다 uisimhada, 궁금하다 gunggeumhada
中文	思索 sīsuǒ
Kiswahili	maajabu
Português	ponderar, perguntar-se
Français	se demander, conjecturer
Deutsch	sich fragen
Italiano	domandarsi, chiedersi
Ελληνικά	αναρωτιέμαι anarotiémai, απορώ aporó
Română	mira
Русский	интересова́ться interesovátʹsja, спра́шивать себя́ sprášivatʹ sebjá, интересно interesno
Tiếng Việt	thắc mắc
العربية	تَسَاءَلَ tasāʔala
עברית	תהה tahá

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Cite this

MLA

"wonder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wonder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wonder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wonder

Chicago

"wonder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wonder.

BibTeX

@misc{wonder_2026,
  title = {wonder},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wonder},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}