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:
Small wonder Tom Stoppard plumbed Herzen’s writing for his theatrical trilogy, “Coast of Utopia.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
That plan has been greeted skeptically by analysts, who wonder about everything from its legality to which American oil companies will participate.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
You might wonder, “If these films are so objectively bad, why do so many actors sign on?”
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
"If Booking.com's so-called sophisticated AI systems can't spot that 10 Downing Street is not a holiday rental, then it's no wonder scammers can exploit the platform so easily," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
It’s no wonder they were giving away these Phillies hats for free.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Lauren Wonder, a Caltrans spokesperson, told The Times that it was a medical office a few years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Superman, Wonder Woman and Thor were born to greatness.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
For example: When music legend Stevie Wonder phoned to congratulate Starr on a Grammy nomination, she goaded him into a playful argument about zodiac signs.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
More broadly, Lore said the focus on automation should allow Wonder to lower its prices further across the board, which he argues are already more competitive than most delivery offerings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
And the Wonder of it all isn’t that the word appeared here or that his pa didn’t beat him.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Schiff, in his own statement, said Yosemite is “one of California’s natural wonders, and must be protected from further development.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
But, after getting directions to Mark's farmhouse, he never arrived and Mark still wonders if it was him, or just a coincidence but really wants him to get in touch.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Might be a sign of the times,” Foster wonders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Apparently, my sister and I were far from alone in turning to the small wonders of nature for solace in a trying time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
It’s only in some part of a dream, a dream of Grandpa Ed and Dawn Celeste and a campfire, that Annabelle wonders now about those late-night walks he’s been taking.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Going into the final major of the season, everyone wondered how Alcaraz would fare in his first tournament since mid-April following an injury to his playing right wrist.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Then, investors wondered how real AI-infrastructure demand really was.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
In a city that had manifested an entire industry out of rewriting stories, I wondered whether the secret was simply to write a new one for myself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It was a reminder of my mom’s illness, and I wondered if I had been placing some grief onto her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
For the first time I wondered how he and Tine were feeding the elderly men and women in their care.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Some may be wondering about the impact of higher gilt yields on the mortgage market, particularly after what followed Liz Truss's mini-Budget in September 2022.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Investors are wondering if Broadcom will update its AI revenue guidance, and how durable growth in its AI business will be going forward, J.P.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Over a decade later, the New York Times thought the problem hadn’t been resolved, wondering whether we were living through a cultural “standstill.”
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Nvidia delivered a “shockingly bullish” outlook for its next fiscal year, in the words of one analyst — but the sheer level of expected growth has some investors wondering what’s behind such upbeat projections.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
I sit, watching but not watching life go on around me, wondering how it’s possible when someone so important just died.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
