Miraculous
What it means
Extraordinarily fortunate or wonderful, as if produced by a miracle.
Reach for it when describing a welcome outcome whose improbability inspires wonder
The hikers made a miraculous return shortly before the temperature fell.
Words to choose between 9
| playful | |
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| everyday | |
| warm |
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| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
against-all-odds
Fits when overcoming extreme improbability is the story
Careful The phrase can turn a complex outcome into a dramatic slogan.
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everyday
Fits when the result is difficult to believe because it is so unusual
Careful Incredible can literally mean not credible and is overused.
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everyday
unexpected
Fits when lack of prediction is the only supported claim
Careful Unexpected can be minor and lacks the positive wonder of miraculous.
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warm
Fits when surprise is intense and immediate
Careful Astonishing does not carry gratitude or possible divine meaning.
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professional
Fits when something lies far outside ordinary expectation
Careful Extraordinary can describe welcome or unwelcome departures from the ordinary.
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professional
Fits when the event deserves attention without a supernatural claim
Careful Remarkable is restrained and may understate extreme improbability.
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formal
providential
Fits when an event is understood as timely divine care
Careful Providential makes a religious interpretation that may not be shared.
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formal
seemingly impossible
Fits when the prior difficulty should be emphasized without claiming impossibility
Careful The phrase is still dramatic and may ignore the mechanisms that made success possible.
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literary
Fits when wonder and beauty deserve an elevated tone
Careful Wondrous sounds archaic and may be too decorative for a serious recovery.
Opposites 3
- ordinary
- predictable
- disastrous
Common phrases 3
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miraculous recovery
The newspapers described her swift return as a miraculous recovery.
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miraculous escape
A fallen beam created the narrow space for a miraculous escape.
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seem miraculous
The repair may seem miraculous until the craft behind it is explained.
Word family 1
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Miraculous can be literal within a faith tradition or figurative. It should not erase medical work, human effort, or another person's beliefs.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated