wonderful
Americanadjective
-
excellent; great; marvelous.
We all had a wonderful weekend.
- Synonyms:
- phenomenal, astounding, amazing, astonishing, prodigious, miraculous, wondrous, awesome, strange, curious, unique
-
of a sort that causes or arouses wonder; amazing; astonishing.
The storm was wonderful to behold.
adjective
-
exciting a feeling of wonder; marvellous or strange
-
extremely fine; excellent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wonderful
First recorded before 1100; wonder ( def. ) + -ful ( def. )
Explanation
Wonderful is better than good — it's even better than great, like your wonderful luck — finding buried treasure on your very first diving expedition. When you look at the parts that make us wonderful, it is easy to see that it means "full of wonder," or awe, admiration, even surprise. The giant Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lit up in all its splendor is a wonderful sight — tourists and New Yorkers alike stop to stare. Other things that are wonderful are very personal to you, like wonderful memories of spending time with your grandparents.
Vocabulary lists containing wonderful
More Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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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.
This time, I sat there for 20 minutes and let the whole absurd, painful, ridiculous, wonderful journey wash over me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
"It's going to just be amazing. The sights, the sounds, the smells. It's all going to be just wonderful," said Neva Hoover, 58, from Ohio, who owns of an auto body repair shop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
“It was wonderful compiling a list of all these marvelous movies for American Cinematheque,” Brooks said in a statement to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Luxury spa days, floating sound baths in five-star hotels, retreats costing thousands of pounds; these are all wonderful, if you can afford them.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was wonderful to be home with the family for O Bon, the biggest holiday of the year.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
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.
