Wonder

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈwʌndə/

Definitions

1. A feeling of amazement and admiration, often mixed with curiosity, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, or unfamiliar
2. A state of awe or surprise often triggered by beauty or something new ; an object or event that provokes amazement or admiration ; to reflect on something with questioning or uncertainty
3. The experience of being amazed or deeply impressed by something extraordinary ; a remarkable occurrence that causes surprise or admiration ; to consider or doubt something with thoughtful curiosity

Etymology: Old English "wundor" meant "miracle" or "marvel" long before it meant the mild astonishment we feel at a sunset. The earliest English sense was closer to the supernatural: an event so unusual that it could only be attributed to a divine or otherworldly power. The everyday feeling of amazement grew out of that stronger sense, and the two meanings still overlap when people speak of a "wonder drug" or the "Seven Wonders of the World." The word belongs to a family spread across the Germanic languages. German "Wunder", Dutch "wonder", Swedish "under", and Icelandic "undur" all share the same ancestor, reconstructed as Proto-Germanic "*wundrą." Its verb, "to wonder," is an older-looking relative that developed in the same branch, in Old English "wundrian," and it has cousins such as German "wundern" and Swedish "undra." Less obviously, "wonder" is connected to "wish." Both trace back to a shared Indo-European root, so the idea of longing and the idea of marvelling sit close together in the family tree.

Synonyms: awe, admiration, marvel, astonishment, amazement

Antonyms: indifference, disinterest, boredom, apathy