n. 1
A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.
n. 2
Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel.
Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.
v. 1
To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel; often followed by at.
He's married by now, I shouldn't wonder.

Related words

Word family: wonderberry wonderchild wonderful wonderland wonderment wondershine wonder-striking wonderstruck
Phrases: gutless wonder wonder drug wonder bean boy wonder chinless wonder girl wonder nine-day wonder seven-day wonder

Forms

Plural: wonders → wonderments, admirations, surprises, awes…
Past participle: wondered
e.g. wondered → questioned, pondered, inquired, admired…

Choose the right word

Wonder or Admire?

In the old sense of wonder, admire is practically obsolete; the word now expresses a delight and approval, in which the element of wonder unconsciously mingles.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

surprise To my surprise, she could not answer the question.
awe Mary is a woman who inspires awe in all who meet her.
admiration Lukas and Rima stared at each other in admiration.
brain Researchers Identify New Receptor Complex in Brain
genius No one recognized Tom's genius while he was alive.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
wonder		rising
surprise		rising
awe		rising
admiration		steady
wonderment		rising
brain		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: one¹, awe¹
4 letters: sign¹
5 letters: brain¹, sight¹
6 letters: genius², marvel², admire², rarity³, ponder²
7 letters: miracle³, inquire², prodigy³, enquire³, portent², cruller
8 letters: question², surprise², einstein², brainiac
9 letters: curiosity⁵, spectacle³, amazement³
10 letters: phenomenon⁴, admiration⁴, mastermind³, wonderment³, astonisher
12 letters: bewilderment⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (genius² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: merveille
Italiano: meraviglia
Español: maravilla
Català: meravella