marvelous

/ˈmɑːvələs/

//ˈmɑːvələs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"marvelous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“marvelous” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,365. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,365
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.

Corpus desk

Index EN-marvelous · marvelous · English

marvelous · rank #14,365 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,365
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH marrow

Nearest frequency peer: marrow (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “marvelous”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “marvelous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

marvelous vs Marcellus
67% similar
marvelous vs marvellous
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for marvelous
PropertyValue
Headwordmarvelous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɑːvələs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#14,365
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “marvelous”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).marvelouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “marrow” (#14,364), “maneuver” (#14,363), “Mali” (#14,362). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “marvelous” is #14,365. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around marvelous (IPA /ˈmɑːvələs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #14,365 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for marvelous, with forms such as "amrvelous", "marevlous", and "marrvelous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Marcellus", "marvellous", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous. The correct English form is marvelous, spelled M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how marvelous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I went to a marvelous party last week.
  2. The fifty little brown musicians rendered difficult selections with marvelous accuracy and gingersome dash and artistic enjoyment of the work.

Etymology

First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous.

This word in other languages

maravilloso(Español)merveilleux(Français)wunderbar(Deutsch)maravilhoso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amrvelous
  • marevlous
  • marrvelous
  • marvelosu
  • marvelouss
  • marveluos
  • marveolus
  • marvleous
  • marvvelous
  • mavrelous
  • mmarvelous
  • mravelous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of marvelous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

amrvelous2marevlous2marrvelous1marvelosu2marvelouss1marveluos2marveolus2marvleous2
Edit distance from "marvelous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "marvelous"?
"marvelous" is spelled M-A-R-V-E-L-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɑːvələs/.
What does "marvelous" mean?
As an adjective, "marvelous" means: Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.
What words are commonly confused with "marvelous"?
"marvelous" is commonly confused with "Marcellus", "marvellous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "marvelous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "marvelous" is /ˈmɑːvələs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "marvelous"?
First attested from 1300 as Middle English merveilous, from Old French merveillus, from merveille (“a wonder”), equivalent to marvel + -ous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "marvelous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

medicinal#14,368liberated#14,351pediatric#14,380impending#14,341

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

pleading12 variantsrationale12 variantsguarding12 variantsrobotics12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list