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miracle

B1
Common

Pronunciation

UK

  • /mˈɪrəkəl/

US

  • /ˈmɪrəkəl/

Meanings

Noun

  1. an astonishingly good or unlikely event, achievement, or thing

  2. an extraordinary event understood as an act of divine power

Beyond the definition

A miracle isn't just something lucky; it's an extraordinary event that defies explanation, often attributed to divine intervention or a power beyond our understanding. Think of a sudden recovery from a serious illness—many would call that a miracle. But miracles aren't limited to religious contexts. A seemingly impossible rescue during a natural disaster or the unexpected reunion with a lost loved one can also be described as miraculous. It's about something so improbable it feels like fate intervened. Sometimes we even use "miracle" casually—"It was a miracle I caught that train!"—meaning sheer luck saved the day.

Examples

  1. 1

    Recovery

    After the accident, his recovery felt like a miracle.

  2. 2

    Prayer

    The family prayed for a miracle while he was in surgery.

  3. 3

    Tight deadline

    At this point, we'd need a miracle to finish by Friday.

    • Phraseneed a miracle

      need something very unlikely to happen

  4. 4

    Lucky outcome

    It's a miracle that nobody was hurt in the fire.

    • Patternit's a miracle that + clause

      it is very surprising and lucky that something happened

More examples
  1. 5

    Teaching

    A patient teacher can work miracles with a shy child.

    • Phrasework miracles

      achieve an unexpectedly good result

  2. 6

    Low expectations

    The cheaper model is fine, but don't expect miracles.

    • Phrasedon't expect miracles

      don't expect an amazing result

  3. 7

    Health claims

    Be careful of ads that promise a miracle cure for back pain.

    • Phrasemiracle cure

      something said to solve a problem completely

  4. 8

    Belief

    She doesn't believe in miracles, but even she was amazed by the result.

See also

Similar

Shades of meaning

Contrast

Used with (collocations)

  • perform a miracle
  • a miracle cure
  • a small miracle
  • nothing short of a miracle

Word family

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Forms and spellings

2 forms open this card.

Main spelling

  • miraclenoun

Forms

  • miraclespluralnoun