Definition of MARVEL

Examples of marvel in a Sentence

Noun

that new electric car really is a marvel

Verb

The doctors marveled that anyone could recover so quickly.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

After toasting to Marino amongst tony tweeds, guests jaunted over to another one of Marino's marvels, The Lobster Club, for a festive family-style dinner including servings of lobster dumplings, tempura mushrooms, and yuzu black bass. — Vogue, "Chanel Honors Peter Marino, The Architect Who Completely Redesigned the New York Flagship," 18 Jan. 2019 Etsy One of the marvels of the modern day gift market is the way that its journals, magnets, and coffee mugs swing wildly between smiling beneficence and saucy declarations of misanthropy. — Eliza Brooke, Vox, "We buy each other gifts with misanthropic slogans to forge a common bond," 9 Nov. 2018 But one of the marvels of living in the early 21st century is our access to small and rugged digital cameras. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "This full video shows just how bonkers the VW Pikes Peak record was," 20 July 2018 Tokyo's itinerary featured a mix of metropolitan marvels, like a visit to the world's busiest pedestrian crossing in Shibuya, to a personal samurai sword demonstration performed at Tokyo's Samurai Museum. — USA TODAY, "How to experience authentic Japan," 31 May 2018 His is not the tale of a genetic marvel, skillfully managing a descent from a lofty perch, the way, say, Tom Brady or Dara Torres has. — Chris Ballard, SI.com, "At 53, Speedskater Theron Sands Chased an Olympic Dream and Daggone Near Caught It," 8 Feb. 2018 Of course, there's a scientific explanation for the marvel behind this marvelous material: Silly Putty is a non-Newtonian fluid. — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "A Serious Ode To Silly Putty," 27 Dec. 2018 For half a century, Hunts Point has stood as a marvel of the modern global supply chain, a grand hub that allows New Yorkers to enjoy everything from dim sum to keftedes to bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, morning, noon, and night. — Sean Patrick Cooper, The New Republic, "Is America Ready for the Next Superstorm?," 4 June 2018 Yes, Simmons should be a marvel for the Sixers for years to come, but Brett Brown still has to shut that office door tight, look him in the eye, and level with him about his limitations. — Mike Sielski, Philly.com, "Ben Simmons' recklessness and overconfidence cost the Sixers in Game 3 | Mike Sielski," 7 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Just as travelers have long marveled at its monumental sculptures and murals, so have scholars recognized Sri Lanka’s artistic impact on Southeast Asia. — Lee Lawrence, WSJ, "‘The Jeweled Isle: Art From Sri Lanka’ Review: Reclaiming a Country’s Creative History," 1 Jan. 2019 Fans have marveled at the fact that the man who took on Bush is now one of Trump’s most ardent fans. — Nadra Nittle, Vox, "How Kanye West’s brand survives his controversies, explained by a crisis PR expert," 3 Oct. 2018 Hunting, trading, and even bounty hunting are all viable careers, for a time, and all provide exceptional opportunities to marvel at the glittering rural American sky or the sweeping Rocky Mountain stand-ins. — Daniel Starkey, Ars Technica, "Red Dead Redemption II review: Getting muddy in the wide-open frontier," 25 Oct. 2018 Tens of millions were left to marvel at — or bemoan — the water’s force. — Barbara Fraser, Discover Magazine, "Understanding the Amazon By Digging Into the Ground Beneath It," 28 Sep. 2018 Now restored to their original splendor, and enhanced by far more explanatory information on display here, the magnificent Cast Courts invite us to marvel at the excellence of the then-novel technology behind all these exhibits. — Richard Cork, WSJ, "Worthy Imitations Worth a Visit," 18 Dec. 2018 He was also pictured marveling at apples in an orchard. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Kim Jong Un's bizarre North Korea propaganda photos," 13 Aug. 2018 Recently, Tarek took to Instagram to marvel at how much their daughter, Taylor El Moussa, 7, looks like Christina. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Christina El Moussa's Daughter Looks so Much Like Her, It's Flipping Crazy," 9 Aug. 2018 Still, Peter Praet, the ECB’s chief economist, marveled recently that the bank largely achieved its goals despite vast unknowns surrounding bond buying and negative rates. — Brian Blackstone, WSJ, "ECB Stimulus’s Mixed Legacy: Economic Success, Political Fiasco," 12 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'marvel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for marvel

Noun

Middle English merveile, mervayle "something causing astonishment, miracle," borrowed from Anglo-French merveille, going back to Gallo-Romance *merevelia, altered from Latin mīrābilia, noun derivative from neuter plural of mīrābilis "causing wonder, remarkable," from mīrārī "to be surprised, look with wonder at" + -bilis "capable of (acting or being acted upon)" — more at admire, -able

Verb

Middle English merveilen, mervaylen, borrowed from Anglo-French merveiller, derivative of merveille marvel entry 1

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