Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Wonder

Won′der

,
Noun.
[OE.
wonder
,
wunder
, AS.
wundor
; akin to D.
wonder
, OS.
wundar
, OHG.
wuntar
, G.
wunder
, Icel.
undr
, Sw. & Dan.
under
, and perhaps to Gr. [GREEK] 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.
☞ 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.

Won′der

,
Verb.
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.
Shakespeare

Won′der

,
Adj.
Wonderful.
[Obs.]
Gower.
After that he said a
wonder
thing.
Chaucer.

Won′der

,
adv.
Wonderfully.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Wonder

WONDER

,
Noun.
[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. Psalm 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

,
Verb.
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.

Definition 2024

Wonder

Wonder

See also: wonder

English

Noun

Wonder ‎(plural Wonders)

  1. One of the Wonders of the World.

Anagrams

wonder

wonder

See also: Wonder

English

Noun

wonder ‎(countable and uncountable, plural wonders)

  1. Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel.
    Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
  2. Something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable.
    The idea was so crazy that it is a wonder that anyone went along with it.‎
  3. Someone very talented at something, a genius.
    He's a wonder at cooking.‎
  4. The sense or emotion which can be inspired by something curious or unknown; surprise; astonishment.
    • Plato, Theætetus (section 155d)
      Socrates: I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. He was not a bad genealogist who said that Iris (the messenger of heaven) is the child of Thaumas (wonder).
    • Bible, Acts iii. 10
      They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
    • 1781, Samuel Johnson, The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets
      All wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance.
  5. (Britain, informal) A mental pondering, a thought.
    • 1934, Katharine Tynan, The house of dreams
      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.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel; often followed by at.
    • Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels
      I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals.
    • Johnson
      We cease to wonder at what we understand.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.
  2. (transitive) To ponder; to feel doubt and curiosity; to wait with uncertain expectation; to query in the mind.
    I wonder whether penguins can fly.‎

Conjugation

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: silence · afterwards · horses · #705: wonder · smile · walk · places

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wonder, wunder, from Old Dutch wundar, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wen- ‎(“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). Compare Low German wunder, wunner, German Wunder, West Frisian wonder, wûnder, English wonder, Danish under.

Noun

wonder n ‎(plural wonderen, diminutive wondertje n)

  1. miracle

Synonyms

Derived terms

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English wonder, wunder, from Old English wundor ‎(“wonder, miracle, marvel, portent, horror; wondrous thing, monster”), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą ‎(“miracle, wonder”), from Proto-Indo-European *wen- ‎(“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). 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 and Swedish under ‎(“wonder, miracle”), Icelandic undur ‎(“wonder”).

The verb is from Old English wundrian, which is from the noun wundor ‎(“wonder, miracle, marvel”), as above.

Pronunciation

Similar Results