formidable
Americanadjective
-
causing fear, apprehension, or dread.
a formidable opponent.
- Antonyms:
- pleasant
-
of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty, etc.; intimidating.
a formidable problem.
-
arousing feelings of awe or admiration because of grandeur, strength, etc.
-
of great strength; forceful; powerful.
formidable opposition to the proposal.
adjective
-
arousing or likely to inspire fear or dread
-
extremely difficult to defeat, overcome, manage, etc
a formidable problem
-
tending to inspire awe or admiration because of great size, strength, excellence, etc
Other Word Forms
- formidability noun
- formidableness noun
- formidably adverb
- nonformidability noun
- nonformidable adjective
- nonformidableness noun
- nonformidably adverb
- quasi-formidable adjective
- quasi-formidably adverb
- superformidable adjective
- superformidableness noun
- superformidably adverb
- unformidable adjective
- unformidableness noun
- unformidably adverb
Etymology
Origin of formidable
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from French, from Latin formīdābilis “causing fear,” from formīd(āre) “to fear” + -ābilis -able
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Risk and ripening at Apple, Tojo’s destructive plan, a father’s formidable presence and more.
Anthropic has indeed proven to be a formidable player in the enterprise space as its recent product launches have spurred a brutal selloff among software stocks.
From MarketWatch
Iranian authorities have a formidable internal security apparatus, numbering an estimated "850,000 agents of repression", Pierre Razoux, director of studies at the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies, told French lawmakers on Wednesday.
From Barron's
Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq are a formidable fighting force, having played a pivotal role in defeating Islamic State.
Armed support from Azerbaijan and Iraqi Kurdistan could make the challenge more formidable.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
