annus mirabilis

[ ahn-noos mi-rah-bi-lis; English an-uhs-muh-rab-uh-lis ]
See synonyms for annus mirabilis on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural an·ni mi·ra·bi·les [ahn-nee mi-rah-bi-les; English an-ahy-muh-rab-uh-leez, an-ee], /ˈɑn ni mɪˈrɑ bɪˌlɛs; English ˈæn aɪ məˈræb əˌliz, ˌæn i/, Latin.
  1. year of wonders; wonderful year.

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How to use annus mirabilis in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for annus mirabilis

annus mirabilis

/ Latin (ˈænʊs mɪˈræbɪlɪs) /


nounplural anni mirabiles (ˈænaɪ mɪˈræbɪliːz)
  1. a year of wonders, catastrophes, or other notable events

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for annus mirabilis

annus mirabilis

[ (an-uhs mi-rab-uh-lis) ]


A Latin expression meaning “miraculous year.” The term refers to a year in which an unusual number of remarkable things occurred: “The Waste Land and Ulysses both appeared in 1922, the annus mirabilis of modern literature.”

Notes for annus mirabilis

The reverse is an annus horribilus, or “terrible year.” Queen Elizabeth II used the term in 1992, referring to a major fire at Windsor Castle and the widely publicized marital problems of her family members.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.