Wonder

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: Won=der

CIDE DICTIONARY

Wonder, n. [OE. wonder, wunder, AS. wundor; akin to D. wonder, OS. wundar, OHG. wuntar, G. wunder, Icel. undr, Sw. & Dan. under, and perhaps to Gr. to gaze at.].

•  That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the presentation to the sight or mind of something new, unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well understood; surprise; astonishment; admiration; amazement.  [1913 Webster]

  " Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less than amazement. It differs from admiration, as now used, in not being necessarily accompanied with love, esteem, or approbation."  [1913 Webster]

  "They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him."  [1913 Webster]

  "Wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance."  [1913 Webster]
•  A cause of wonder; that which excites surprise; a strange thing; a prodigy; a miracle.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

  "To try things oft, and never to give over, doth wonders."  [1913 Webster]

  "I am as a wonder unto many."  [1913 Webster]

Seven wonders of the world. See in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.

Wonder, v. i. [AS. wundrian.].

•  To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel.  [1913 Webster]

  "I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals."  [1913 Webster]

  "We cease to wonder at what we understand."  [1913 Webster]
•  To feel doubt and curiosity; to wait with uncertain expectation; to query in the mind; as, he wondered why they came.  [1913 Webster]

  "I wonder, in my soul,
  What you would ask me, that I should deny."  [1913 Webster]

Wonder, a. 

 Wonderful.  Gower.  [1913 Webster]
"After that he said a wonder thing."  [1913 Webster]

Wonder, adv. 

 Wonderfully.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Wonder, n. & v.
--n.
1 an emotion excited by what is unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable, esp. surprise mingled with admiration or curiosity etc.
2 a strange or remarkable person or thing, specimen, event, etc.
3 (attrib.) having marvellous or amazing properties etc. (a wonder drug).
4 a surprising thing (it is a wonder you were not hurt).
--v.
1 intr. (often foll. by at, or to + infin.) be filled with wonder or great surprise.
2 tr. (foll. by that + clause) be surprised to find.
3 tr. desire or be curious to know (I wonder what the time is).
4 tr. expressing a tentative enquiry (I wonder whether you would mind?).

Idiom

I shouldn't wonder colloq. I think it likely. I wonder I very much doubt it. no (or small) wonder (often foll. by that + clause) one cannot be surprised; one might have guessed; it is natural. the seven wonders of the world seven buildings and monuments regarded in antiquity as specially remarkable. wonder-struck (or -stricken) reduced to silence by wonder. wonders will never cease an exclamation of extreme (usu. agreeable) surprise. wonder-worker a person who performs wonders. work (or do) wonders
1 do miracles.
2 succeed remarkably.

Derivative

wonderer n.

Etymology

OE wundor, wundrian, of unkn. orig.

THESAURUS

Wonder

admiration, agonize over, amaze, amazement, assailability, astonishing thing, astonishment, awe, be amazed, be astonished, be at sea, be innocent of, be uncertain, beat about, bewilderment, concern, coquet with, curiosity, cynosure, dabble, doubt, dubiety, enchantment, exception, fantasy, fear, feel unsure, ferlie, first-rater, flounder, gape, gawk, gaze, gazingstock, genius, give up, grope, have no idea, incertitude, know a little, know not, know not what, know nothing of, leading light, luminary, marvel, marveling, marvelment, miracle, mistrust, nonesuch, not know, not rightly know, pass, perplexity, phenomenon, portent, prodigy, puzzle over, puzzlement, question, quite a thing, rarity, reverence, scratch the surface, sensation, shock, sight, sign, skepticism, smatter, something else, spectacle, stand aghast, star, stare, stare openmouthed, stunner, superstar, suspicion, thrash about, topnotcher, toy with, virtuoso, vulnerability, wonder whether, wonderful thing, wonderment, wonderwork, wot not of

ROGET THESAURUS

Wonder

Unconformity

N unconformity, nonconformity, unconformity, disconformity, unconventionality, informality, abnormity, abnormality, anomaly, anomalousness, exception, peculiarity, infraction of law, breach, of law, violation of law, violation of custom, violation of usage, infringement of law, infringement of custom, infringement of usage, teratism, eccentricity, bizarrerie, oddity, je ne sais quoi, monster, monstrosity, rarity, freak, freak of Nature, weirdo, mutant, rouser, snorter, individuality, idiosyncrasy, originality, mannerism, aberration, irregularity, variety, singularity, exemption, salvo, nonconformist, nondescript, character, original, nonesuch, nonsuch, monster, prodigy, wonder, miracle, curiosity, flying fish, black sheep, black swan, lusus naturae, rara avis, queer fish, mongrel, random breed, half-caste, half-blood, half-breed, metis, crossbreed, hybrid, mule, hinny, mulatto, tertium quid, hermaphrodite, phoenix, chimera, hydra, sphinx, minotaur, griffin, griffon, centaur, saggittary, kraken, cockatrice, wyvern, roc, dragon, sea serpent, mermaid, merman, merfolk, unicorn, Cyclops, men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders, teratology, fish out of water, neither one thing nor another, neither fish nor fowl, neither fish flesh nor fowl nor good red herring, one in a million, one in a way, one in a thousand, outcast, outlaw, off the beaten track, oasis, uncomformable, exceptional, abnormal, abnormous, anomalous, anomalistic, out of order, out of place, out of keeping, out of tune, out of one's element, irregular, arbitrary, teratogenic, lawless, informal, aberrant, stray, wandering, wanton, peculiar, exclusive, unnatural, eccentric, egregious, out of the beaten track, off the beaten track, out of the common, out of the common run, beyond the pale of, out of the pale of, misplaced, funny, unusual, unaccustomed, uncustomary, unwonted, uncommon, rare, curious, odd, extraordinary, out of the ordinary, strange, monstrous, wonderful, unexpected, unaccountable, outre, out of the way, remarkable, noteworthy, queer, quaint, nondescript, none such, sui generis, unfashionable, fantastic, grotesque, bizarre, outlandish, exotic, tombe des nues, preternatural, denaturalized, heterogeneous, heteroclite, amorphous, mongrel, amphibious, epicene, half blood, hybrid, androgynous, androgynal, asymmetric, adelomorphous, bisexual, hermaphrodite, monoclinous, qualified, singular, unique, one-of-a-kind, newfangled, novel, non-classical, original, unconventional, unheard of, unfamiliar, undescribed, unprecedented, unparalleled, unexampled, unconformably, except, unless, save barring, beside, without, save and except, let alone, however, yet, but, once in a blue moon, once in a million years, Int, what on earth!, what in the world!, What the devil!, Holy cow!, Can you top that?, Sacre bleu, never was seen the like, never was heard the like, never was known the like, I could hardly believe it, I saw it, but I didn't believe it.

Wonder

N wonder, marvel, astonishment, amazement, wonderment, bewilderment, amazedness, admiration, awe, stupor, stupefaction, stound, fascination, sensation, surprise, note of admiration, thaumaturgy, surprised, aghast, all agog, breathless, agape, open- mouthed, awestruck, thunderstruck, moonstruck, planet-struck, spellbound, lost in amazement, lost in wonder, lost in astonishment, struck all of a heap, unable to believe one's senses, like a duck ion thunder, wonderful, wondrous, surprising, unexpected, unheard of, mysterious, miraculous, indescribable, inexpressible, inaffable, unutterable, unspeakable, monstrous, prodigious, stupendous, marvelous, inconceivable, incredible, inimaginable, unimaginable, strange, passing strange, striking, overwhelming, wonder-working, wonderfully fearfully, for a wonder, in the name of wonder, strange to say, mirabile dictu, mirabile visu, to one's great surprise, with wonder, with gaping mouth, with open eyes, with upturned eyes, Int, lo, lo and behold!, O!, heyday!, halloo!, what!, indeed!, really!, surely!, humph!, hem!, good lack, good heavens, good gracious!, Ye gods!, good Lord!, good grief!, Holy cow!, My word!, Holy shit!, gad so!, welladay!, dear me!, only think!, lackadaisy!, my stars, my goodness!, gracious goodness!, goodness gracious!, mercy on us!, heavens and earth!, God bless me!, bless us, bless my heart!, odzookens!, O gemini!, adzooks!, hoity-toity!, strong!, Heaven save the mark, bless the mark!, can such things be!, zounds!, 'sdeath!, what on earth, what in the world!, who would have thought it!, you don't say so!, You're kidding!, No kidding? what do you say to that!, nous verrons!, how now!, where am I?, vox faucibus haesit, one's hair standing on end.

VB wonder, marvel, admire, be surprised, start, stare, open one's eyes, rub one's eyes, turn up one's eyes, gloar, gape, open one's mouth, hold one's breath, look aghast, stand aghast, stand agog, look blank, tombe des nues, not believe one's eyes, not believe one's ears, not believe one's senses, not be able to account for, not know whether one stands on one's head or one's, surprise, astonish, amaze, astound, dumfound, dumfounder, startle, dazzle, daze, strike, strike with wonder, strike with awe, electrify, stun, stupefy, petrify, confound, bewilder, flabbergast, stagger, throw on one's beam ends, fascinate, turn the head, take away one's breath, strike dumb, make one's hair stand on end, make one's tongue cleave to the roof of one's mout, make one stare, take by surprise, be wonderful, beggar description, beggar the imagination, baffle description, stagger belief.

Prodigy

N prodigy, phenomenon, wonder, wonderment, marvel, miracle, monster, curiosity, lion, sight, spectacle, jeu de theatre, coup de theatre, gazingstock, sign, St. Elmo's fire, St. Elmo's light, portent, bursting of a shell, bursting of a bomb, volcanic eruption, peal of thunder, thunder-clap, thunder-bolt, what no words can paint, wonders of the world, annus mirabilis, dignus vindice nodus, natura il fece e poi roppe la stampa.

Inexpectation

N inexpectation, non-expectation, false expectation, miscalculation, surprise, sudden burst, thunderclap, blow, shock, start, bolt out of the blue, wonder, eye opener, unpleasant surprise, pleasant surprise, nonexpectant, surprised, unwarned, unaware, off one's guard, inattentive, unexpected, unanticipated, unpredicted, unlooked for, unforeseen, unhoped for, dropped from the clouds, beyond expectation, contrary to expectation, against expectation, against all expectation, out of one's reckoning, unheard of, startling, surprising, sudden, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable), abruptly, unexpectedly, surprisingly, plump, pop, a l'improviste, unawares, without notice, without warning, without a 'by your leave', like a thief in the night, like a thunderbolt, in an unguarded moment, suddenly, Int, heydey!, little did one think, little did one expect, nobody would ever suppose, nobody would ever think, nobody would ever expect, who would have thought? it beats the Dutch.

Unintelligibility

VB be unintelligible, require explanation, have a doubtful meaning, pass comprehension, render unintelligible, conceal, darken, confuse, perplex, not understand, lose, lose the clue, miss, not know what to make of, be able to make nothing of, give it up, not be able to account for, not be able to make either head or tail of, be at sea, wonder, see through a glass darkly, not understand one another, play at cross purposes.