formidable

[fawr-mi-duh-buhl, fawr-mid-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. causing fear, apprehension, or dread.

   a formidable opponent.

   Synonyms: horrible, frightful, fearful, menacing, threatening, appalling, dreadful
   Antonyms: pleasant

2. of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty, etc.; intimidating.

   a formidable problem.

3. arousing feelings of awe or admiration because of grandeur, strength, etc.

4. of great strength; forceful; powerful.

   formidable opposition to the proposal.

formidable

/ ˈfɔːmɪdəbəl /

adjective

1. arousing or likely to inspire fear or dread

2. extremely difficult to defeat, overcome, manage, etc

   a formidable problem

3. tending to inspire awe or admiration because of great size, strength, excellence, etc

Other Word Forms

• formidability noun
• formidably adverb
• formidableness noun
• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of formidable¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from French, from Latin formīdābilis “causing fear,” from formīd(āre) “to fear” + -ābilis -able

Word History and Origins

Origin of formidable¹

C15: from Latin formīdābilis , from formīdāre to dread, from formīdō fear

Example Sentences

With conditions at the various group-stage venues proving to favour spinners considerably, England continue to prove that they have one of the most formidable attacks to exploit such pitches.

Read more on BBC

Hernandez’s Bastian is a formidable presence, angry, strict and domineering — the qualities he’s needed to navigate a bureaucratic system that has little concern for the feelings of immigrant outsiders.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

With the youthful but formidable Lewis, accompanied by the wisdom and stewardship of senior figures like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Micky McIlorum, Hull KR have assembled one of the most forbidding sides of the modern era.

Read more on BBC

Yet in almost Cooperian fashion, “Irascible” goes out of its way to denigrate Richardson—an approach that sits awkwardly with Richardson’s formidable record of art scholarship, including his four-volume “A Life of Picasso.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Ration Equity Armor Fund, puts it, “the wall of worry remains formidable, but history suggests it’s worth climbing.”

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• awesome 
• dangerous 
• daunting 
• dire 
• dreadful 
• fierce 
• imposing 
• intimidating 
• menacing 
• terrific