Wonderment
n.joyful, hopefulliterary
What it means
A state of delighted amazement and curious awe.
Reach for it when naming sustained wonder when the experience feels absorbing
The first snowfall held the children in quiet wonderment.
Choose between these
6- everyday
when intense surprise is the dominant feeling
not when Amazement can lack pleasure or curiosity.
- warm
when pleasure matters more than surprise
not when Delight can arise from familiar comfort with no wonderment.
- warm
when delighted awe and curiosity should sound natural
not when Wonder can be quiet or reflective, unlike the more visibly amazed wonderment.
- formal
astonishment
when unexpectedness overwhelms ordinary expectation
not when Astonishment can be negative and does not imply delight.
- formal
when grandeur inspires reverence or humility
not when Awe can include fear and is more solemn than wonderment.
- literary
when delighted astonishment suits a poetic voice
not when Marvel more often names the object or an exclamation in current English.
Said against
3- boredom
- indifference
- disenchantment
It naturally appears in
3- childlike wonderment
Her childlike wonderment reflected openness, not lack of judgment.
- gaze in wonderment
Visitors gaze in wonderment as the mechanical birds begin to move.
- sense of wonderment
The lantern trail created a sense of wonderment without hiding the night sky.
Where this comes from
- Wiktionary, English noun sense: surprise, admiration, or wonder opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.