miracle
/ˈmɪrək(ə)l
/noun
1An extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency: the miracle of rising from the grave...
- A number of local shrines and icons that have survived earthquakes or other natural disasters are revered as evidence of miracles or divine intervention.
- The miracles and extraordinary events of the gospels were reduced to allegory and one was left with that very English type of faith: tolerant, accommodating Anglicanism.
- Sir Isaac Newton is enlisted to debunk magic, miracles and divine intervention, but we are not told why Newton remained a devout Christian to his life's end.
Synonyms
supernatural phenomenon, mystery, prodigy, sign
1.1A remarkable event or development that brings very welcome consequences: it was a miracle that more people hadn’t been killed industries at the heart of the economic miracle...
- I still wait in anticipation and hope for a miracle that may bring us back together.
- In New Zealand, so they tell us, an economic miracle has been performed and a dream world has been created which is the envy of the entire globe.
- As a consequence, the miracles that most frequently came up in the interviews were miracles in the economic sphere.
1.2An exceptional product or achievement, or an outstanding example of something: a machine which was a miracle of design [as modifier]: a miracle drug...
- Secondly, the press this week hailed cannabis as a wonder drug and a miracle cure.
- The new miracle drugs are genetic-based, promising better outcomes for smaller groups of patients with particular genes.
- It moves in an unpredictable fashion more suggestive of an intoxicated sailor than a miracle of modern engineering.
Synonyms
wonder, marvel, sensation, phenomenon, astonishing feat, amazing achievement
Origin
Middle English: via Old French from Latin miraculum 'object of wonder', from mirari 'to wonder', from mirus 'wonderful'.
In Latin a miraculum was ‘an object of wonder’ and was formed from mirus ‘wonderful’. These also lie behind admiration (Late Middle English) and marvel (Middle English).