Meaning & use
marvel
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To feel or show great surprise and admiration at something remarkable.
Grammar: No object; used with at or that: marvel at the view.
Patterns
- marvel at something
- marvel that something happens
Tourists stopped to marvel at the size of the ancient temple.
I marvel at how patient she is with the children.
He marveled that anyone could paint in such detail.
nouncountable
A person, thing or achievement that causes wonder because it is so impressive.
Grammar: Often with of: a marvel of engineering.
Patterns
- a marvel of something
- a marvel to someone
The bridge is a marvel of modern engineering.
The little robot was a marvel to the children.
Her memory is a marvel, since she recalls every name.
Word forms
| third person singular | marvels |
|---|---|
| past tense | marveled (US) / marvelled (UK) |
| past participle | marveled (US) / marvelled (UK) |
| -ing form | marveling (US) / marvelling (UK) |
Common combinations
- marvel at
- We marveled at the northern lights.
- marvel of engineering
- The dam is a marvel of engineering.
- marvel that
- I marvel that she finished the marathon at her age.
- natural marvel
- The canyon is a natural marvel.
- little marvel
- The tiny watch is a little marvel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wonder
- Wonder as a verb often means to be curious and ask yourself, while marvel means to admire with surprise.
- gape
- Gape suggests staring with an open mouth, which is more physical and less admiring than marvel.
- admire
- Admire is calmer and does not include the sense of surprise that marvel does.
- wonder at
- Wonder at is a close equivalent but sounds more literary.
Opposites
Word family
- marvelous adjective
- wonderful, causing great admiration (UK marvellous)
- marvelously adverb
- in an excellent way
- marvelousness noun
- the quality of being wonderful
Commonly confused: marvel or Marvel? marvel or marble?
marvel vs Marvel
Marvel with a capital letter is a well-known comics brand; as a common word it simply means wonder.
marvel vs marble
Marble is a stone, sometimes confused in spelling with marvel.
Practice
Visitors always ___ the intricate carvings on the old doors.
Choose one answer.
Marvel is intransitive and needs at before its object. Marvels at has the wrong agreement for visitors, and are marvel is not a correct form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “marvel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.