wonder
verb/ˈwʌndə(r)/
/ˈwʌndər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they wonder | /ˈwʌndə(r)/ /ˈwʌndər/ |
| he / she / it wonders | /ˈwʌndəz/ /ˈwʌndərz/ |
| past simple wondered | /ˈwʌndəd/ /ˈwʌndərd/ |
| past participle wondered | /ˈwʌndəd/ /ˈwʌndərd/ |
| -ing form wondering | /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/ /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to think about something and try to decide what is true, what will happen, what you should do, etc.
- ‘Why do you want to know?’ ‘No particular reason. I was just wondering.’
- wonder who, where, etc… I wonder who she is.
- I was just beginning to wonder where you were.
- You have to wonder just what he sees in her.
- I can't help wondering whether I'm missing something here.
- Have you ever wondered what your cat really thinks of you?
- I always wondered why you never got married.
- I'm still wondering how that could have happened.
- I sometimes wonder where all this is going to end.
- I often wonder what became of him.
- wonder about somebody/something We were wondering about next April for the wedding.
- + speech ‘Where's Natasha?’ he wondered aloud.
Extra Examples- ‘Why do you ask?’ ‘I just wondered.’
- I wonder why he left his job.
- ‘What should I do now?’ she wondered.
- He's behaving so strangely. It makes you wonder whether he's in trouble somehow.
- His obvious hunger made her wonder how long he had been up and about.
- I can't help wondering if he lost on purpose.
- I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.
- I sometimes wonder who's crazier, him or me.
- I wondered uneasily if anything had happened to the children.
- I wondered vaguely whether Robert could be the murderer.
- You're probably wondering what all the fuss is about.
- By the end you are left wondering what on earth the film is trying to say.
- We'd wondered about you as a possible team member.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- idly
- vaguely
- briefly
- …
- begin to
- start to
- cannot help but
- …
- about
- can’t help wondering
- keep wondering
- [transitive] wonder if, whether… used as a polite way of asking a question or asking somebody to do something
- I wonder if you can help me.
- I was wondering whether you'd like to come to a party.
- [intransitive, transitive] to be very surprised by something
- wonder (at something) She wondered at her own stupidity.
- (British English, informal) He's gone and left us to do all the work, I shouldn't wonder (= I wouldn't be surprised if he had).
- wonder (that)… I wonder (that) he didn’t hurt himself jumping over that wall.
- I don't wonder you're tired. You've had a busy day.
Word OriginOld English wundor (noun), wundrian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wonder and German Wunder, of unknown ultimate origin.
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wonder