marvel
Americannoun
-
marvels
plural
-
something that causes wonder, admiration, or astonishment; a wonderful thing; a wonder or prodigy.
The new bridge is an engineering marvel.
-
Archaic. the feeling of wonder; astonishment.
verb (used with object)
-
marvels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marveled,
past participle, past
-
marvelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
marveling,
present participle
-
marvelling
present participle (especially British)
-
to wonder at (usually followed by a clause as object).
I marvel that you were able to succeed against such odds.
-
to wonder or be curious about (usually followed by a clause as object).
A child marvels that the stars can be.
verb (used without object)
-
marvels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marveled,
past participle, past
-
marvelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
marveling,
present participle
-
marvelling
present participle (especially British)
verb
noun
-
something that causes wonder
-
archaic astonishment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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marvelsimple
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marvelssimple
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have marveledperfect
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have marvelledperfect
-
has marveledperfect
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has marvelledperfect
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am marvelingprogressive
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am marvellingprogressive
-
are marvelingprogressive
-
are marvellingprogressive
-
is marvelingprogressive
-
is marvellingprogressive
-
have been marvelingperfect progressive
-
have been marvellingperfect progressive
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has been marvelingperfect progressive
-
has been marvellingperfect progressive
Past
-
marveledsimple
-
marvelledsimple
-
had marveledperfect
-
had marvelledperfect
-
was marvelingprogressive
-
was marvellingprogressive
-
were marvelingprogressive
-
were marvellingprogressive
-
had been marvelingperfect progressive
-
had been marvellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of marvel
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mervel, from Old French merveil(l)e, from Late Latin mīrābilia “marvels,” noun use of neuter plural of Latin mīrābilis “marvelous”; see admirable
Explanation
The Latin source of the word marvel is mirari, "to wonder at," and that's exactly what marvel means when it's a verb. You may marvel at the depth of the Grand Canyon or at the size of a piece of cake. When it entered the English language in 1300, marvel meant "miracle" –- that is, a supernatural act of divine agency (miracle actually comes from the same Latin word as marvel). By 1386, Geoffrey Chaucer was able to use the Middle English meruailles to describe more mundane astonishment. Chaucer also used marvel –- maruaylen, actually –- as a verb. In contemporary usage, the close synonym wonder is used much more often –- unless you happen to be a fan of the comic book universe created by Stan Lee. As a noun, anything that provokes wonder is a marvel.
Vocabulary lists containing marvel
Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 2
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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:
The Ming dynasty floating-crab cup is a marvel to behold.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
But listening back now, it’s hard not to marvel at how timeless this timely track feels.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Across the aisle, opposition leader Supriya Sule briefly stepped outside the debate to marvel at the aburdity of the moment.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
People paid thousands of dollars for tickets and got their money’s worth at the world’s most-expensive stadium, a modern marvel that’s only getting better with age.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
I am loath to think it, and indeed it would be almost as great a marvel as the other to find that Van Helsing was mad; but anyhow I shall watch him carefully.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
After the delays and cost increases, these projects have not exactly delivered reliable marvels.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
He marvels at the latest evidence of the grandchildren’s genius, like any grandfather should, and spoils them with treats and toys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Mr. Bryson’s pivotal summer is full of heroes, frauds, fads and marvels, but the reader is aware of what the revelers cannot yet imagine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
"I've seen workshops that are nigh on dust-free," marvels furniture maker and woodwork instructor Ryan Saunders.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
“I have never seen such an effect, physical and moral, produced by the utterance of one word,” marvels the Confederate major.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
As I walked through downtown, I marveled at how the overwhelmingly Gen Z throngs expressed their mexicanidad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Touring a young United States in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at Americans’ boundless appetite for commerce, industry and wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
There’s the Scottish soccer fan who marveled at our wildly varied landscape and welcoming communities as he walked from L.A. to Boston, arriving in time to see Scotland play Haiti on Saturday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
ROMONT, Switzerland—Willy Wonka would have marveled at one of the machines at a manufacturing plant here—a contraption that injects flavors into coffee capsules via a set of whirring tubes labeled “hazelnut,” “caramel,” and “blueberry cheesecake.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
If Ivy weren’t feeling so rotten, she would’ve marveled over the gauzy canopy draped over the bed and how all June’s books were organized by color.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
And in May 2025 Trump sounded more than a little envious of his Arab hosts as he praised the marble of Qatar's royal palace as "perfecto" and marvelled at Saudi Arabia's architecture.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
"I can make out all the letters of the alphabet, even the smallest ones," he marvelled, pointing to his phone screen.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
Maher, a crochety liberal-leaning comic who has grown more crochety and less liberal as societal norms have passed him by, marvelled at the fact that he could make the commander-in-chief laugh.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2025
Delegates who accompanied the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves to China earlier this month marvelled at how the Beijing air had been cleaned up, and indigenous electric cars were everywhere.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
But as she went she put new spirit in him, a new dream of his father, clearer now, so that he marvelled to himself divining that a god had been his guest.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
We would be sipping ice-cold spritzes at cafés overlooking the Mediterranean, frolicking down cobblestone streets lined with charming boutiques, and marveling at the frescoes and marble sculptures adorning grand cathedrals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
She and Justin held their daughter for a few precious moments as her heartbeat stilled, marveling at her perfect tiny fingers and toes and whispering private words of love.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
“To have someone like Michael Mayer say, ‘Come play this Russian chess master,’ because there’s something in me that he believed in, that is so cool,” he said, still marveling at his good fortune.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
In fact, your guide probably has had no direct knowledge of—or even personal interest in—sunbathing on the Gulf Coast, rock climbing in Moab, or marveling at the architecture of Milan.
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2026
"It's as if Central Park is under a protective dome," I said, still marveling at its lushness.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Passengers tend to spend the first few minutes of the ride "marvelling, videoing the steering wheel moving on its own, taking selfies", Fischer said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Australian tourist Olivia Martell-Groves went all in for the seasonal experience, and donned a flower-printed kimono while marvelling at the flowers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
His own style, which is to say his mind, was compulsively metaphorical, gorgeously maximal, enough so to make him worry about “an implicit marvelling at myself as expressor.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
The event's founder, Sir Brendan Foster, said he had "spent ages marvelling" at the 2025 designs and "never spotted the mistake", even when they were displayed in the window of city centre department store Fenwick.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Mr Charles remembered marvelling at how my father showed not one hint of discomfort or anger, but continued to drive with an expression balanced perfectly between personal dignity and readiness to oblige.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
