Adjacent Words

Wonder definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WONDER, n. [G., Gr., to show; and hence a sight; a panic.]
1. That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the presentation to the sight or mind, of something new, unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well understood; something that arrests the attention by its novelty, grandeur or inexplicableness. Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less than amazement. It differs from admiration, in not being necessarily accompanied with love, esteem or approbation, nor directed to persons. But wonder sometimes is nearly allied to astonishment, and the exact extent of the meaning of such words can hardly be graduated.
They were filled with wonder and amazement. Acts 3.
Wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance.
2. Cause of wonder; that which excites surprise; a strange thing; a prodigy.
To try things oft, and never to give over, doth wonders.
I am as a wonder to many. Psalms 71.
3. Any thing mentioned with surprise.
Babylon, the wonder of all tongues.
Wonders of the world. The seven wonders of the world were the Egyptian pyramids, the Mausoleum erected by Artemisia, the temple of Diana at Ephesus, the walls and hanging gardens of Babylon, the colossus at Rhodes, the statue of Jupiter Olympius, and the Pharos or watch-tower of Alexandria.
4. A miracle. Exodus 3.
WONDER, v.i. To be affected by surprise or admiration.
I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals.
We cease to wonder at what we understand.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising [syn: wonder, wonderment, admiration]
2: something that causes feelings of wonder; "the wonders of modern science" [syn: wonder, marvel]
3: a state in which you want to learn more about something [syn: curiosity, wonder] v
1: have a wish or desire to know something; "He wondered who had built this beautiful church" [syn: wonder, inquire, enquire]
2: place in doubt or express doubtful speculation; "I wonder whether this was the right thing to do"; "she wondered whether it would snow tonight" [syn: wonder, question]
3: be amazed at; "We marvelled at the child's linguistic abilities" [syn: wonder, marvel]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wundor; akin to Old High German wuntar wonder Date: before 12th century 1. a. a cause of astonishment or admiration ; marvel <it's a wonder you weren't killed> <the pyramid is a wonder to behold> b. miracle 2. the quality of exciting amazed admiration 3. a. rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience b. a feeling of doubt or uncertainty II. verb (wondered; wondering) Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to be in a state of wonder b. to feel surprise 2. to feel curiosity or doubt <wondering about the future> transitive verb to be curious or in doubt about <wonders why birds sing> • wonderer noun III. adjective Date: 12th century wondrous, wonderful: as a. exciting amazement or admiration <wonder toys> b. effective or efficient far beyond anything previously known or anticipated <a wonder fabric>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an emotion excited by what is unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable, esp. surprise mingled with admiration or curiosity etc. 2 a strange or remarkable person or thing, specimen, event, etc. 3 (attrib.) having marvellous or amazing properties etc. (a wonder drug). 4 a surprising thing (it is a wonder you were not hurt). --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by at, or to + infin.) be filled with wonder or great surprise. 2 tr. (foll. by that + clause) be surprised to find. 3 tr. desire or be curious to know (I wonder what the time is). 4 tr. expressing a tentative enquiry (I wonder whether you would mind?). Phrases and idioms: I shouldn't wonder colloq. I think it likely. I wonder I very much doubt it. no (or small) wonder (often foll. by that + clause) one cannot be surprised; one might have guessed; it is natural. the seven wonders of the world seven buildings and monuments regarded in antiquity as specially remarkable. wonder-struck (or -stricken) reduced to silence by wonder. wonders will never cease an exclamation of extreme (usu. agreeable) surprise. wonder-worker a person who performs wonders. work (or do) wonders 1 do miracles. 2 succeed remarkably. Derivatives: wonderer n. Etymology: OE wundor, wundrian, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wonder Won"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wondered; p. pr. & vb. n. Wondering.] [AS. wundrian.] 1. To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel. I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals. --Swift. We cease to wonder at what we understand. --Johnson. 2. To feel doubt and curiosity; to wait with uncertain expectation; to query in the mind; as, he wondered why they came. I wonder, in my soul, What you would ask me, that I should deny. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wonder Won"der, n. [OE. wonder, wunder, AS. wundor; akin to D. wonder, OS. wundar, OHG. wuntar, G. wunder, Icel. undr, Sw. & Dan. under, and perhaps to Gr. ? to gaze at.] 1. That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the presentation to the sight or mind of something new, unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well understood; surprise; astonishment; admiration; amazement. They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. --Acts iii. 10. Wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance. --Johnson. Note: Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less than amazement. It differs from admiration, as now used, in not being necessarily accompanied with love, esteem, or approbation. 2. A cause of wonder; that which excites surprise; a strange thing; a prodigy; a miracle. `` Babylon, the wonder of all tongues.'' --Milton. To try things oft, and never to give over, doth wonders. --Bacon. I am as a wonder unto many. --Ps. lxxi. 7. Seven wonders of the world. See in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wonder Won"der, a. Wonderful. [Obs.] --Gower. After that he said a wonder thing. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wonder Won"der, adv. Wonderfully. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wonders, wondering, wondered) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you wonder about something, you think about it, either because it interests you and you want to know more about it, or because you are worried or suspicious about it. I wondered what that noise was... 'He claims to be her father,' said Max. 'We've been wondering about him.'... But there was something else, too. Not hard evidence, but it made me wonder. VERB: V wh, V about n, V 2. If you wonder at something, you are very surprised about it or think about it in a very surprised way. Walk down Castle Street, admire our little jewel of a cathedral, then wonder at the castle... We all wonder you're still alive. VERB: V at n, V that 3. If you say that it is a wonder that something happened, you mean that it is very surprising and unexpected. It's a wonder that it took almost ten years... The wonder is that Olivier was not seriously hurt. N-SING 4. Wonder is a feeling of great surprise and pleasure that you have, for example when you see something that is very beautiful, or when something happens that you thought was impossible. 'That's right!' Bobby exclaimed in wonder. 'How did you remember that?'... N-UNCOUNT 5. A wonder is something that causes people to feel great surprise or admiration. ...a lecture on the wonders of space and space exploration. ...the wonder of seeing his name in print... N-COUNT: usu the N of n/-ing 6. If you refer, for example, to a young man as a wonder boy, or to a new product as a wonder drug, you mean that they are believed by many people to be very good or very effective. Mickelson was hailed as the wonder boy of American golf... ADJ: ADJ n 7. You can say 'I wonder' if you want to be very polite when you are asking someone to do something, or when you are asking them for their opinion or for information. I was just wondering if you could help me... PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR wh [politeness] 8. If you say 'no wonder', 'little wonder', or 'small wonder', you mean that something is not surprising. No wonder my brother wasn't feeling well... Under such circumstances, it is little wonder that they experience difficulties... PHRASE: PHR that 9. You can say 'No wonder' when you find out the reason for something that has been puzzling you for some time. Brad was Jane's brother! No wonder he reminded me so much of her! PHRASE: PHR that 10. If you say that a person or thing works wonders or does wonders, you mean that they have a very good effect on something. A few moments of relaxation can work wonders... PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n/-ing, PHR with/on n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Astonishment, awe, amazement, surprise, bewilderment. See admiration. 2. Curiosity, curious awe, inquiring surprise, awed curiosity. 3. Prodigy, marvel, miracle, portent. 4. Curiosity, phenomenon, spectacle, rarity, sight. II. v. n. 1. Marvel, be surprised, be amazed, be astonished or astounded, be wonder-struck, be struck with wonder, be taken aback, stand agog, look blank, open one's eyes, open one's mouth. 2. Ponder, meditate, conjecture, speculate, question, be curiously doubtful.

Moby Thesaurus

admiration, agonize over, amaze, amazement, assailability, astonishing thing, astonishment, awe, be amazed, be astonished, be at sea, be innocent of, be uncertain, beat about, bewilderment, concern, coquet with, curiosity, cynosure, dabble, doubt, dubiety, enchantment, exception, fantasy, fear, feel unsure, ferlie, first-rater, flounder, gape, gawk, gaze, gazingstock, genius, give up, grope, have no idea, incertitude, know a little, know not, know not what, know nothing of, leading light, luminary, marvel, marveling, marvelment, miracle, mistrust, nonesuch, not know, not rightly know, pass, perplexity, phenomenon, portent, prodigy, puzzle over, puzzlement, question, quite a thing, rarity, reverence, scratch the surface, sensation, shock, sight, sign, skepticism, smatter, something else, spectacle, stand aghast, star, stare, stare openmouthed, stunner, superstar, suspicion, thrash about, topnotcher, toy with, virtuoso, vulnerability, wonder whether, wonderful thing, wonderment, wonderwork, wot not of