wonder
verb (used without object)
to think or speculate curiously.
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wonder
American
[wuhn-der]
/ ˈwʌn dər /
verb (used without object)
wonders,
present (3rd person singular)
wondered,
past participle, past
wondering
present participle
-
to think or speculate curiously.
to wonder about the origin of the solar system.
- Synonyms:
- question, ponder, meditate, conjecture
-
to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel (often followed byat ).
He wondered at her composure in such a crisis.
-
to doubt.
I wonder if she'll really get here.
verb (used with object)
wonders,
present (3rd person singular)
wondered,
past participle, past
wondering
present participle
-
to speculate curiously or be curious about; be curious to know.
to wonder what happened.
-
to feel wonder at.
I wonder that you went.
- Synonyms:
- marvel
noun
wonders
plural
-
something strange and surprising; a cause of surprise, astonishment, or admiration.
That building is a wonder. It is a wonder he declined such an offer.
-
the emotion excited by what is strange and surprising; a feeling of surprised or puzzled interest, sometimes tinged with admiration.
He felt wonder at seeing the Grand Canyon.
- Synonyms:
- awe, bewilderment, amazement, astonishment, surprise
-
miraculous deed or event; remarkable phenomenon.
idioms
wonder
1
British
/ ˈwʌndə /
noun
-
the feeling excited by something strange; a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and sometimes awe
-
something that causes such a feeling, such as a miracle
-
(modifier) exciting wonder by virtue of spectacular results achieved, feats performed, etc
a wonder drug
a wonder horse
-
to achieve spectacularly fine results
-
surprisingly or amazingly
-
a subject that arouses general surprise or public interest for a short time
-
(sentence connector) (I am) not surprised at all (that)
no wonder he couldn't come
-
(sentence connector) (I am) hardly surprised (that)
small wonder he couldn't make it tonight
verb
-
to indulge in speculative inquiry, often accompanied by an element of doubt (concerning something)
I wondered about what she said
I wonder what happened
-
to be amazed (at something)
I wonder at your impudence
Wonder
2
British
/ ˈwʌndə /
noun
wonder
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wondersimple
-
wonderssimple
-
have wonderedperfect
-
has wonderedperfect
-
am wonderingprogressive
-
are wonderingprogressive
-
is wonderingprogressive
-
have been wonderingperfect progressive
-
has been wonderingperfect progressive
Past
-
wonderedsimple
-
had wonderedperfect
-
was wonderingprogressive
-
were wonderingprogressive
-
had been wonderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wonder
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English wundor; cognate with Dutch wonder, German Wunder, Old Norse undr; (verb) Middle English wonderen, Old English wundrian, derivative of the noun
Explanation
When you wonder about something, you want to learn more about it. You wonder why the car is making that noise so you ask the mechanic to explain it. Wonder comes from the Old English word wundor, which means "marvelous thing, the object of astonishment." For example, the Taj Mahal is one of the great wonders of the world, so beautiful and magical. But wonders are all around us — anything that amazes and marvels is a wonder, like high-definition television, the Internet, your mom's homemade pizza — though we tend to forget this because we are used to them.
Vocabulary lists containing wonder
Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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"LAFFF"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Given the emotion, there are times you wonder how close Ramsay-Peaty is to walking away entirely.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
But it does make one wonder what Burning Man would be without tech bros.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Now that AI is taking over seemingly everything, you may wonder if it can handle your financial planning and investment management.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“It’s kind of this nonbinary image, where if you’re looking at it and you don’t know who I am, you might wonder: Is that a 12-year-old boy?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Then she says something that makes me wonder if I accidentally said all those thoughts out loud.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
In April, his production company Wonder Project launched a joint venture called Innovative Dreams with Luma, a rival to Runway.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Maybe it’s homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made on pillowy Wonder Bread, with the crusts cut off.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
This was the instrument that Mr. Wonder examined when he arrived, unannounced, at Mediasound on Memorial Day weekend in 1971.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Swift is the second-youngest inductee after Stevie Wonder, who was 33 when he joined.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
“Word gets around Sassafras Springs, Eben. I know you need a seventh Wonder and I might have one for you. Only you can be the judge of that,” Uncle Alf answered.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
After two deployments, Desma, a single mother of three, wonders whether the two years she spent overseas took her away from her son for too long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Looking back on the process by which China since 2005 began to dominate global commerce, Tchir wonders if China is approaching the same moment in AI as it was then with industrial and consumer goods?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Monica wonders if her health issues could have been prevented if she had been believed by doctors in the first place.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
A stunned Emma wonders who could have betrayed her so intimately, and why.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
She had in her hands a lit match and was staring into the flame as if it held wonders.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
When Rodri returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year, there will have been plenty who wondered whether he would return to the Ballon d'Or-winning levels he had reached at his peak.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
If you’ve ever wondered why anyone could possibly fall for an investment that sounds too good to be true, you should tune in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Wilber wondered if he’d ever get to go to school again, or even hold his diploma in his hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"At a certain point, we wondered whether that same current control could be redirected from cells to molecules, replacing the neuron-facing electrodes with ring-electrode pairs that could localize pH for DNA synthesis. It worked."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
He wondered what power he would unleash if he touched it.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Companies that don’t would raise a red flag, leaving investors wondering what they have against keeping the market fully informed throughout the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Emergency shelters were set up in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France for tourists and residents left wondering what they would return to.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
After a rather rough month for semiconductor stocks, the bounce seen the past few days may have some wondering if the storm has passed.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I’m wondering if that is just a threat, or if it’s a genuine option that the president is actually considering,” Radd said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Maggie looked at her blankly, wondering why she was asking her, forgetting she was wearing an apron that seemed to indicate she worked here.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
