What does "wonderful" mean?

1. (excellent) very good, pleasant, or enjoyable. 2. (inspiring wonder) making you feel surprise and admiration because something is beautiful or amazing. 3. (very) used in some local areas to mean 'very' or 'extremely'.

wonderful

adj. · adv.

US //ˈwəndɝfəɫ// UK //wˈʌndəfəl// won·der·ful

1 excellent (adj.)
A1 Beginner

very good, pleasant, or enjoyable.

extremely good, pleasant, or admirable. Often used as a general-service superlative for positive experiences.

Example

We had a wonderful time at the beach last weekend.

Example

The local community provided a wonderful reception for the visiting delegates, ensuring every guest felt welcomed and valued.
- terrible
- awful
2 inspiring wonder (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Literary

making you feel surprise and admiration because something is beautiful or amazing.

tending to excite wonder; extraordinary or surprising in a way that inspires awe.

Example

The view from the top of the mountain was truly wonderful.

Example

The cathedral's architecture is a wonderful example of medieval engineering, featuring intricate stonework that has survived for centuries.
- ordinary
- unremarkable

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3 very (adv.)
C2 Proficiency Dialect

used in some local areas to mean 'very' or 'extremely'.

used as an intensifier meaning exceedingly or to a great extent. This usage is non-standard and restricted to specific regional varieties.

Example

It is wonderful kind of you to help us with the harvest.

Example

The old man described the winter as being wonderful cold, using the local dialect to emphasise the severity of the frost.

Origin

From Middle English wonderful, wondirful, from Old English wundorful (“wonderful”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundrafull, equivalent to wonder + -ful. Cognate Dutch wondervol (“wonderful”), German wundervoll (“wonderful”). Compare Old English wuldorfull (“glorious”).

Word family

Adjectivewonderful
Adverbwonderfully