Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

marvelous

/ˈmɑɹvələs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.53 in modern English

Syllables: mar-ve-lous
IPA: /ˈmɑɹvələs/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.

American usage

Example Sentences

"I went to a marvelous party last week."
"The fifty little brown musicians rendered difficult selections with marvelous accuracy and gingersome dash and artistic enjoyment of the work."
"At first glance, importance sampling seems like a marvellous solution to any posterior simulation problem."

Etymology

First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: merveilous, merveillus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɑɹvələs/
British English: /ˈmɑːvələs/

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

more marvelous (comparative) most marvelous (superlative) marvellous (alternative, UK)

Derived Forms

marvelously marvelousness mauvelous unmarvelous

Synonyms

portentous prodigious improbable marvellous tall miraculous fantastic grand howling rattling terrific tremendous

Homonyms

marvellous

Rhymes With

marvellous

Questions

How do you pronounce marvelous?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɑɹvələs/.
What does marvelous mean?: Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.
Where does marvelous come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce marvelous

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “marvelous”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɑɹvələs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “marvelous”.
Repeat and practice — Say “marvelous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.