Meaning & use
marvellous
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableBritish
Extremely good, enjoyable, or impressive; causing great pleasure or admiration.
Grammar: Gradable: you can say 'more marvellous' or 'most marvellous'. Often used after linking verbs like be, look, sound.
Patterns
- be marvellous
- look/sound marvellous
- a marvellous time
We had a marvellous time at the beach yesterday.
The view from the top of the hill was absolutely marvellous.
She said the food was marvellous, and she ate everything.
adjectivecomparableBritishinformal
Used to describe something that is surprisingly good or lucky, especially when it solves a problem.
Grammar: Often used in exclamations like 'Marvellous!' to show you are pleased.
Patterns
- It's marvellous that...
- Marvellous!
It's marvellous that you could come so quickly.
Marvellous! Now we can start the meeting on time.
Word forms
| comparative | more marvellous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most marvellous |
Common combinations
- absolutely marvellous
- The weather was absolutely marvellous for the whole week.
- a marvellous idea
- Painting the room yellow was a marvellous idea.
- feel marvellous
- After a good night's sleep, I feel marvellous.
- marvellous news
- She passed her exam — it's marvellous news!
Synonyms and how they differ
- wonderful
- Very similar in meaning and tone, but wonderful is used in both British and American English and is slightly more common in everyday speech.
- fantastic
- Also means extremely good, but is more informal and often used in exclamations.
- excellent
- Suggests very high quality, often used for things like work or performance, not for personal feelings.
- great
- More general and less emphatic; can describe anything from a good idea to a large amount.
Opposites
Word family
- marvel noun
- A wonderful or astonishing person or thing.
- marvel verb
- To be filled with wonder or astonishment.
- marvelously adverb
- In a wonderful or astonishing manner (American spelling).
Commonly confused: marvellous or miraculous?
marvellous vs miraculous
Miraculous means happening through a miracle or supernatural power, while marvellous simply means very good or impressive.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'marvellous' correctly?
Choose one answer.
In option 1, 'marvellous' is an adjective describing how she felt. Option 0 is wrong because marvellous weather would make you want to go outside, not stay inside. Options 2 and 3 use marvellous as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “marvellous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.