From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmarvelmar‧vel1 /ˈmɑːvəl $ ˈmɑːr-/ verb (marvelled, marvelling British English, marveled, marveling American English) [intransitive, transitive] ADMIREto feel or express great surprise or admiration at something, especially someone’s behaviour ‘The man is a genius, ’ marvelled Claire.marvel at/over I marvelled at my mother’s ability to remain calm in a crisis. Visitors to Rome marvel over the beauty of the city.marvel that I marvelled that anyone could be so stupid.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
marvel• Indeed, anyone who has seen her perform can not fail to marvel.• Sleep-deprived viewers in altered states of consciousness can marvel at the jaw-dropping splendor of animated Cecil B.. DeMille shots.• Gratefully Gina covered her nakedness, marvelling at the strange circumstances in which she found herself.• I walked down it from the top to bottom and could only marvel at the way it had been constructed.• Her body had soon regained its youthful shape and he marvelled how trim she looked.• At the back of his mind, he marvelled that Lorton had bothered to give him anything at all.• I marvel, too, at the confidence exhibited by the hosts of such shows.marvel that• We sat there marveling that anyone could be so stupid.• But such wonder, such admiration, has its firmest basis in the discovery by faith of the marvel that is man.• At the back of his mind, he marvelled that Lorton had bothered to give him anything at all.• It was so obvious that he marvelled that none should have seen it before him.• And that was the marvel that sent my spirits soaring!• I could only sit and marvel that some things are the same the world over.• Between equations, they marvelled that their tests would be scored to the whole point, instead of to five decimal places.• She marvels that they flow so easily to fill the vast space in which she moves.• By 1875 Atchison could boast of a railroad bridge spanning the Missouri, a mechanical marvel that turned in order to open.marvelmarvel2 noun [countable] ADMIREsomething or someone that is extremely useful or skilful SYN miracle, wonder an engineering marvel I don’t know how he did it – he’s an absolute marvel!marvel of the marvels of modern scienceExamples from the Corpus
marvel• A properly working Macintosh is a marvel, but a Macintosh with an undiagnosed software problem is slow torture.• Suddenly every finger was a marvel and a joy to him.• The bridge is an engineering marvel.• And the engineering marvel turned out to be a slow-motion natural disaster.• Stanley Gascgoine, a green marvel with a two-pronged attack, left foot, right foot or head.• There was a sensual anticipation about, an assurance of marvels shortly to be, manifest.• Under the concentrated fire from front and flank, the marvel is that any escaped.• The marvel is that more is different.marvel of• His solo was a marvel of sound, subtlety, and musicality.Origin marvel2 (1200-1300) Old French merveille, from Late Latin mirabilia “things that cause surprise and admiration”, from Latin mirari “to wonder” 