marvelous
Americanadjective
-
superb; excellent; great.
a marvelous show.
- Synonyms:
- wonderful
- Antonyms:
- terrible
-
such as to cause wonder, admiration, or astonishment; surprising; extraordinary.
- Synonyms:
- miraculous, amazing, wondrous
- Antonyms:
- commonplace
-
improbable or incredible.
the marvelous events of Greek myth.
- Synonyms:
- unbelievable
Usage
What does marvelous mean? Marvelous means wonderful, extraordinary, fabulous, superb, excellent. In this sense, it is often used to praise things like works of art and artistic performances. Marvelous is the adjective form of the noun marvel, which most commonly means a thing that causes wonder. Marvelous can mean causing wonder, as well as improbable, but both of these senses are much less common than its primary meaning of “wonderful.”In British English, it is commonly spelled marvellous. Example: That was absolutely marvelous! What a wonderful show! Bravo!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marvelous
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English merve(il)lous, from Middle French merveilleus; equivalent to marvel + -ous
Explanation
Something marvelous is unusual, wonderful, and almost miraculous. Finding a bag of gold would be marvelous by any standard. Something that's decent or even simply good isn't marvelous. A marvelous thing needs to be really stunning, exceptional, or hard to believe. Marvelous things make people marvel at them — they're amazing and a little shocking, like a miracle. Winning the lottery would be marvelous. Finding out that ice cream is actually good for you would be marvelous. And if you want to make someone feel extra nice, tell them their new hat looks marvelous.
Vocabulary lists containing marvelous
Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
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Wow! Synonyms for "Amazing"
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Amazing
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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.
But, like Tarantino, he anoints a marvelous leading lady as his Pam Grier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Several marvelous larger-than-life photographs of her—O’Keeffe’s fame has always been amplified by images of her striking appearance, many taken by her husband and foremost promoter, Alfred Stieglitz—add panache.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“When I truly had a place that I wished to call home, I wanted it to be equally marvelous for my great friends, the other ‘cast members.’”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
What makes things even more difficult is that it’s impossible, as of now, to pinpoint the exact time and location of a downpour, even though it can be gauged with marvelous accuracy.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
More than anything on earth Bellerophon wanted Pegasus, a marvelous horse which had sprung from the Gorgon’s blood when Perseus killed her.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
