# wonder

Pronunciation: US say "WUN-dur" /ˈwʌndɚ/; UK say "WUN-duh" /ˈwʌndə/

## Verb

1. To think about something with doubt and curiosity, asking yourself a question in your mind.
   - Simple: To think about something you are not sure of, because you want to know more.
   - _I wonder whether we made the right choice about the house._
   - _He wondered for a long time before finally answering._
4. To be filled with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment, often at something remarkable.
   - Simple: To feel great surprise or amazement at something.
   - _Scientists still wonder at the sheer complexity of the human brain._
   - _She wondered at how quickly the seasons seemed to change._

## Noun

2. Something so remarkable, such as a place, object, or achievement, that it causes awe or astonishment; a marvel.
   - Simple: Something amazing, such as a place, object, or achievement, that fills people with surprise and admiration.
   - _The Grand Canyon is one of the great natural wonders of the planet._
   - _Travelers cross continents just to see this ancient wonder._
3. A feeling of awe, astonishment, and curiosity inspired by something unexpected, novel, or hard to explain.
   - Simple: A strong feeling of surprise and amazement at something new or hard to explain.
   - _The children stared at the fireworks with open-mouthed wonder._
   - _A deep sense of wonder filled the explorers as the vast cave opened before them._
5. A surprising and often fortunate event or fact that seems hard to explain; a near-miracle, as in 'it's a wonder that…'.
   - Simple: Something surprising or lucky that is hard to explain, as in 'It's a wonder nobody was hurt.'
   - _It is a wonder the team won after such a disastrous start._
   - _Given the chaos backstage, it was a wonder the show went ahead at all._
6. A person of remarkable talent or skill; a genius.
   - Simple: A person who is extremely talented or skilled at something.
   - _The young chess player is a wonder, defeating adults twice her age._
   - _He's a wonder in the kitchen, inventing new dishes every week._
7. Paired with a preceding adjective ending in -less to form a mocking or insulting nickname for someone. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used after a word ending in '-less' to make an unkind name for someone.
   - _Nice job locking the keys in the car, you brainless wonder._
   - _Everyone groaned when the clueless wonder showed up an hour late._

## Other meanings

- (noun) An instance of pondering something; a thought turned over in the mind.
- (noun) A type of fried sweet pastry of the cruller kind, resembling a donut.

## Origin

The noun descends from Middle English wonder, from Old English wundor ("wonder, miracle, marvel"), from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, with cognates including Dutch wonder and German Wunder ("miracle, wonder"). The verb comes from Old English wundrian, from Proto-Germanic *wundrōną, related to German wundern and Swedish undra.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wonder (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).