Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Extraordinarily good, great, or impressive; marvelous; amazing: "wondrous" describes something that causes wonder, astonishment, or admiration due to its exceptional quality or nature.
   • Of a wonderful or marvelous kind: It can describe something that is remarkable or fantastic.

2. Adverb (archaic or literary):

   • To a wonderful or remarkable degree; extremely; wonderfully: Used as an intensifier to mean "very" or "extremely."

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The view from the mountaintop was a wondrous sight.
  • They told tales of a wondrous land full of magic.
  • The scientist made a wondrous discovery.

• Adverb:

  • The garden was wondrous beautiful in the spring light. (Literary/Archaic)
  • The story was wondrous strange. (Literary/Archaic)

Advanced Usage

• "wondrous to behold": amazing or marvelous to see.
  • The northern lights were wondrous to behold.
• Used in formal or literary contexts to elevate the description of something extraordinary.

Variants and Related Words

• Wondrously (adverb): In a way that causes wonder; wonderfully.
  • The machine worked wondrously well.
• Wonder (noun/verb): The feeling of amazement or the source of it; to feel curiosity or amazement.
• Wonderful (adjective): Inspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Marvelous, fantastic, amazing, astonishing, extraordinary, phenomenal, miraculous, fabulous.
• Adverb: Wonderfully, extremely, remarkably, extraordinarily.

Antonyms

• Adjective: Ordinary, commonplace, unremarkable, mediocre, terrible.
• Adverb: Slightly, somewhat, ordinarily.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• A wondrous thing: An amazing or marvelous thing or event.
  • It was a wondrous thing to see the two rivals become friends.
• While "wondrous" itself is not typically part of modern phrasal verbs, it is a key component in descriptive literary phrases.

Adjective

1. extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
   • a fantastic trip to the Orient
   • the film was fantastic!
   • a howling success
   • a marvelous collection of rare books
   • had a rattling conversation about politics
   • a tremendous achievement

Adverb

1. (used as an intensifier) extremely well
   • her voice is superbly disciplined
   • the colors changed wondrously slowly