Wondrously
adv.joyful, hopefulliterary
What it means
In a way that inspires delighted wonder or admiration.
Reach for it when describing an unusually beautiful or remarkable effect in elevated prose
The lanterns glowed wondrously beneath the snow-covered branches.
Choose between these
6- playful
when an enchanting, seemingly impossible effect is intended
not when Magically can misrepresent skilled work as effortless or imply the supernatural.
- warm
when aesthetic or emotional grace matters more than surprise
not when Beauty can be familiar and need not inspire wonder.
- warm
when strong positive evaluation should sound natural
not when Wonderfully can mean merely very well and need not evoke wonder.
- formal
astonishingly
when unexpected degree is central
not when Astonishingly can intensify a negative result and does not carry delight.
- literary
when pleased amazement is the exact effect
not when Marvelously is ornate and may sound dated in ordinary prose.
- literary
sublimely
when exceptional beauty and grandeur justify the highest register
not when Sublimely is much stronger and can sound affected.
Said against
3- ordinarily
- dully
- unremarkably
It naturally appears in
3- wondrously clear
The winter air was wondrously clear above the dark valley.
- wondrously restored
The little theater was wondrously restored without erasing its patched history.
- wondrously alive
At dawn the wetland seemed wondrously alive with wings and calls.
The word family
1Where this comes from
- Wiktionary, English adverb sense: in a wondrous manner 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.