marvelous
mar·ve·lous/ˈmɑɹvələs/adjective
marvelous is spelled M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables (mar·ve·lous). It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, marvelous means “Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in marvelous?
| Letters | 9: M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: mar·ve·lous |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th 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; 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 marvelous?
Marvelous appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th 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 marvelous?
- UK /ˈmɑːvələs/
- UK /ˈmɑːvləs/
- US /ˈmɑɹvələs/
Marvelous has 3 syllables, split mar·ve·lous in writing.
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 marvelous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as marvelous 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 marvelous
- more marvelous comparative
- most marvelous superlative
- marvellous UK
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does marvelous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
USExciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.
I went to a marvelous party last week.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Marvelous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exciting wonder or surprise:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | merveilleux |
| German | wunderbar, wundersam |
| Portuguese | maravilhoso |
| Spanish | maravilloso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does marvelous come from?
First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).