Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

marvellous

/ˈmɑɹvələs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

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

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.

British usage

Example Sentences

"I went to a marvellous party last week."
"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”) + -us. Doublet of merveilleux. See also marvel.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: merveilous, merveillus

Regional Pronunciation

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

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

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

Derived Forms

marvellously marvellousness marvie marvy unmarvellous

Synonyms

improbable marvelous tall miraculous fantastic grand howling rattling terrific tremendous wonderful wondrous

Homonyms

marvelous

Rhymes With

marvelous

Questions

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

How to pronounce marvellous

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “marvellous”.
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 “marvellous”.
Repeat and practice — Say “marvellous” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.