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PlainSpell

wonder

won·derUK /ˈwʌndə/noun, verb

wonder is spelled W-O-N-D-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (won·der). It appears 85 times per million words in written English, the 1,251st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wonder means “A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wonder is wonders.

How many letters and syllables are in wonder?

Letters6: W-O-N-D-E-R
Syllables2: won·der
In writing85 times per million words; the 1,251st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

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 wonder?

Wonder appears 85 times per million words in written English, the 1,251st 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 wonder?

  • UK /ˈwʌndə/
  • UK [ˈwʌ̹ndə]
  • Australia /ˈwɐndə/

Wonder has 2 syllables, split won·der in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wonder.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with wonder?

3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as wonder from its last stressed vowel (/ʌndə/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: downer.

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 wonder

  • wonders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • wonda
  • wondering participle, present
  • wondered participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does wonder mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity, inspired by unexpected events, novel experiences and inexplicable circumstances, sometimes accompanied by surprise, shock or reverence.

    Socrates: I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. He was not a bad genealogist who

  2. 2

    Something that causes amazement or awe; a marvel.

    Wonders of the World seem to come in sevens.

  3. 3

    Fortunate circumstances.

    That stay in the country did her wonders.

  4. 4

    An astonishing and seemingly inexplicable turn of events.

    The idea was so ridiculous that it's a wonder anyone went along with it.

  5. 5

    A feat that demonstrates incredible finesse or skill, as if performed by magic.

    Given the limited resources, he's really performed wonders.

  6. 6

    Someone very talented at something, a genius.

    He's a wonder at cooking.

  7. 7

    colloquialA nominalizer that serves as a head noun for the preceding adjective, which together form a mocking or insulting epithet.

    So the voiceless wonder speaks at last.

  8. 8

    UKinformalA mental pondering, a thought.

verb

  1. 1

    To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel; often followed by at.

    He's married by now, I shouldn't wonder.

  2. 2

    To ponder; to feel doubt and curiosity; to query in the mind.

    He wondered whether penguins could fly. She had wondered this herself sometimes.

noun

as Wonder
  1. 1

    Any of the Wonders of the World.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Wonder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Spanishasombro, pasmo (sense of awe, astonishment and curiosity), maravilla, portento (something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel), milagro (something astonishing and seemingly inexplicable), maravillarse (to be affected with surprise)
Frenchmerveille (something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel), s'étonner, être étonné (to be affected with surprise), se demander, conjecturer (to ponder about something)
GermanWunder, Mirakel (something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel), sich wundern (to be affected with surprise), sich fragen (to ponder about something)
Portuguesemaravilha (something that causes amazement or awe, a marvel), ponderar, perguntar-se (to ponder about something), genial (someone very talented at something, a genius), pensamento (informal: thought)

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 wonder come from?

From Middle English wonder, wunder, from Old English wundor (“wonder, miracle, marvel”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after wonder