wow
English meaning: Wow
Definition
Anything exceptionally surprising, unbelievable, outstanding, etc.
Example
“He did? That's a wow!”
Another example: “The magician's final trick really wowed the audience.”
Usage — When, Where & How
An informal interjection expressing astonishment or admiration ('Wow, that's amazing!'); as a noun, something impressive ('a real wow'). Casual register, very common in speech. Also a technical audio term for slow pitch variation.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
An imitative exclamation of surprise, originally Scots, recorded from the 16th century.
Synonyms
- scream
- belly laugh
- riot
- howler
- thigh-slapper
- sidesplitter
Antonyms / Opposites
- flop
- dud
Related Words
Common Collocations
- wow factor
- just wow
- wow and flutter
- real wow
- wow them
- wow effect
Word Forms
wow (interj/n/v); wows; wowed; wowing
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B