marvel

play

noun mar·vel \ ˈmär-vəl \

Definition of marvel

1 :one that causes wonder or astonishment

her talent is a marvel to behold

… with that marvel of architecture before our eyes …
—Martha Kean

2 :intense surprise or interest :astonishment

… his voice filled with marvel …
—Mordecai Richler

See marvel defined for English-language learners

See marvel defined for kids

Examples of marvel in a Sentence

that new electric car really is a marvel

Recent Examples of marvel from the Web

Park near the wayside and hike below the bridge to ogle this engineering marvel 238 feet above the muddy Kuskulana River.

— erin kirkland, Alaska Dispatch News, "A road less traveled: Driving to McCarthy with kids," 18 July 2017
With life expectancies rarely exceeding a decade, the engineering marvels are surprisingly disposable.

— charlie wood, The Christian Science Monitor, "As space junk soars, science turns to nature for ideas," 3 July 2017
The complex fugue in the last movement, with four different themes entwined, was a marvel of clarity.

— gregory sullivan isaacs, star-telegram, "Mimir Festival remains fresh after two decades," 30 June 2017
Documentary showcasing engineering marvels worldwide from DubaiaEUs record-high skyscrapers to bridges soaring through clouds.

— mark rapp, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Silver Screen listings for June 30-July 6: "Trolls" at several Cleveland Cinemas & More," 29 June 2017
Isaiah Thomas remains a 5-foot-9 marvel, who unfortunately, slipped out of town before becoming a phenomenon.

— ailene voisin, sacbee.com, "Fox wants to ‘help a city turn a franchise around.’ What attracted him to Sacramento?," 22 June 2017
Still, most people facing serious illness avoid Hospice and place their bet instead on the marvels of modern medicine.

— t.r. reid, The Atlantic, "How We Spend $3,400,000,000,000," 15 June 2017
Deboned and splayed on a tray, with drumsticks and wings marking each corner, the duck is a marvel to behold as well as a joy to eat.

— providence cicero, The Seattle Times, "Peony Kitchen: Chinese food presented with panache in Bellevue," 15 June 2017
Away from its famous coastline, Sardinia’s rugged interior is home to one of the world’s most intriguing architectural marvels: 7,000 mysterious stone towers known as nuraghi.

— eliot stein, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Tour of the Nuraghi, Sardinia's Bronze-Age Mysteries," 9 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of marvel

Middle English mervel, from Anglo-French merveille, from Late Latin mirabilia marvels, from Latin, neuter plural of mirabilis wonderful, from mirari to wonder

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

marvel Synonyms

Synonyms

caution, flash, wonder, miracle, phenomenon, portent, prodigy, sensation, splendor

Related Words

curiosity, sight, spectacle; beauty, corker, crackerjack (also crackajack), dandy, jim-dandy, knockout; apparition, appearance

marvel

verb

Definition of marvel

marveled or marvelled; marveling or marvelling play \ˈmärv-liŋ, ˈmär-və-\

intransitive verb

:to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity

marveled at the magician's skill

transitive verb

:to feel astonishment or perplexity at or about

marveled that they had escaped

See marvel defined for English-language learners

Examples of marvel in a Sentence

The doctors marveled that anyone could recover so quickly.

Recent Examples of marvel from the Web

The veteran even marveled at one play during practice on Tuesday when Kamara and Cadet were on the field together because that would be so difficult for a defense to stop.

— josh katzenstein, NOLA.com, "Saints' Adrian Peterson adjusting to being in backfield timeshare," 29 Aug. 2017
Future historians will marvel that one of the most damaging events in the early Trump administration came in a botched response to a neo-Nazi rally.

— rich lowry, National Review, "The Breitbart Presidency," 18 Aug. 2017
Steve Weemer, who coached them in high school but is now enjoying a successful career in heavy equipment sales in central Illinois, marvels at what has happened.

— rick armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News, "Armstrong: Former Waubonsie teammates Jared Brownridge, Bryan Jefferson go pro," 18 July 2017
Aside from this aerial feat of Arctic engineering, the ArcticShark's ground station is marvel all its own.

— david hambling, Popular Mechanics, "The Winter-Proof Drone That Will Watch the Arctic," 13 July 2017
Spectators set up tents, sipped cocktails, and marveled at the players' skills and horsemanship.

— dennis hohenberger, Courant Community, "Polo Match Raises Funds For High Hopes Therapeutic Riding," 6 July 2017
Since then, people have marveled at the ingenuity of the design, which incorporates principles of physics and thermodynamics to create an optimal shelter in the frozen north.

— craig s. smith, Alaska Dispatch News, "A lost art in the Arctic: igloo making," 29 June 2017
The researchers marvel at the formations, so different from their own backyards — places as distant as China, Niger, Australia and Spain.

— katherine mast, Discover Magazine, "The Desert's Living Skin," 26 June 2017
Shirley Zhang and her husband Michael Borland of Westmont stopped by the lake for their first time, marveling at the abundance of birds on their way to another state park.

— joan cary, Daily Southtown, "Bird lovers flock to Lake Renwick," 16 June 2017