marvellous
/ˈmɑɹvələs/adjective
marvellous is spelled M-A-R-V-E-L-L-O-U-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, marvellous means “Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in marvellous?
| Letters | 10: M-A-R-V-E-L-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is marvellous?
Marvellous appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce marvellous?
- UK /ˈmɑːvələs/
- UK /ˈmɑːvləs/
- US /ˈmɑɹvələs/
Marvellous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-gb-marvellous.ogg, En-us-marvellous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with marvellous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as marvellous from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹvələs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of marvellous
- more marvellous comparative
- most marvellous superlative
- marvelous US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does marvellous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
UKExciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.
I went to a marvellous party last week.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does marvellous come from?
First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”) + -us. Doublet of merveilleux. See also marvel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).