Miracle
noun /ˈmɪrəkəl/ — An extraordinary event attributed to divine agency — or anything that seems genuinely impossible and yet happens.
Definition
A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency; an outstanding example or achievement.
Beyond the definition
Miracle is the word at the intersection of the impossible and the actual — it names what happened that shouldn't have. The secular use preserves the theological core: even without divine agency, we use miracle for the thing that broke the rules of probability and outcome.
Origin & history
From Latin miraculum — something wonderful (from mirari: to wonder at, from mirus: wonderful). The wonder — miracle as what produces wonder. The word is older than its theological use.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The save was a miracle — the goalkeeper moving before the ball was struck.
She called the diagnosis a miracle in the secular sense: not divine intervention but statistical impossibility made real.
Small miracles: the ones that happen too quietly for anyone to notice, but that change everything.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Miracle” when the meaning fits your context: A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency; an outstanding example or achievement.
Synonyms
wonder, phenomenon, marvel, extraordinary event
Antonyms
ordinariness, inevitability
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Capturing an Auspicious Moment
An adult on a balcony catches a brilliant beam of light hitting a specific flower just as the clouds break.
The sudden, perfect light hitting the flower is a miracle—a surprising and welcome event that feels as though it were orchestrated by a divine agency. It captures an outstanding example of beauty that stands out against the mundane, gray atmosphere of the day.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Miracle" mean?
Miracle is noun meaning: An extraordinary event attributed to divine agency — or anything that seems genuinely impossible and yet happens.. A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency; an outstanding example or achievement.
Where does the word "Miracle" come from?
From Latin miraculum — something wonderful (from mirari: to wonder at, from mirus: wonderful). The wonder — miracle as what produces wonder. The word is older than its theological use.