wondrous · adj — wonderful; amazing, inspiring awe; marvelous. It carries an Arena rating of 1775, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, wondrous ranks #1,016 of 17,163 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,631 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,035 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #5,143 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words.
wondrous is pronounced /ˈwʌndɹəs/.
Why “wondrous” is a great word
Inspiring a feeling of awe or marvel at something extraordinary. From Middle English wondrous, an alteration (influenced by the suffix -ous) of Middle English wonders ("wondrous, wonderful", adjective), from Old English wundres ("of wonder"), the genitive singular of wundor ("wonder, miracle"), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą ("wonder"); first attested c. 1500. Unlike "marvelous" (which often highlights impressive skill or excellence) or "astonishing" (which stresses the shock of surprise), "wondrous" leans toward the sheer, positive admirability of the seemingly magical. It is the silent, crystalline geometry of a snowflake, the impossible, vaulted light in a forest cathedral, or the first conscious breath drawn by a newborn—less a reaction to the unexpected than a quiet surrender to the sublime, as if the world briefly parted its veil to reveal something too beautiful to name.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English wondrous, alteration after the suffix -ous of Middle English wonders (“wondrous, wonderful”, adjective), from Old English wundres (“of wonder”), genitive singular of wundor (“wonder, miracle”), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą (“wonder”). Compare Dutch wonder, German Wunder.
adj
- Wonderful; amazing, inspiring awe; marvelous.e.g.“We all stared open-mouthed at the wondrous sight.”
adv
- In a wonderful degree; remarkably; wondrously.e.g.“And looking vp, when as his shield he lakt, / And sword saw not, he wexed wondrous woe” — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 53:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.