formidable
Americanadjective
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causing fear, apprehension, or dread.
a formidable opponent.
- Antonyms:
- pleasant
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of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty, etc.; intimidating.
a formidable problem.
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arousing feelings of awe or admiration because of grandeur, strength, etc.
-
of great strength; forceful; powerful.
formidable opposition to the proposal.
adjective
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arousing or likely to inspire fear or dread
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extremely difficult to defeat, overcome, manage, etc
a formidable problem
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tending to inspire awe or admiration because of great size, strength, excellence, etc
Other Word Forms
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formidabilitynoun
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formidablenessnoun
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nonformidabilitynoun
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nonformidablenessnoun
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superformidablenessnoun
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unformidablenessnoun
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nonformidableadjective
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quasi-formidableadjective
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superformidableadjective
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unformidableadjective
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formidablyadverb
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nonformidablyadverb
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quasi-formidablyadverb
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superformidablyadverb
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unformidablyadverb
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
Explanation
People who are formidable inspire fear and respect thanks to their size, or special ability, or unusual qualities. If you're a wildly popular celebrity, you probably don't go anywhere without a formidable bodyguard. What's interesting about formidable is that we often tend to use it about things that are simultaneously scary and impressive. A formidable opponent is almost by definition a worthy one; a formidable challenge is almost by definition one worth rising to. Not surprisingly, this word is derived from the Latin formidare, "to fear."
Vocabulary lists containing formidable
List 3
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Words from "The Avengers"
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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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.
Two-time undisputed world champion Usyk was pushed to his limits by Verhoeven, who had competed only once in boxing but had a formidable record from kickboxing, eventually finishing the fight late in the 11th round.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
The company has reported 900 million users for its Gemini AI, and its custom AI chips—known as tensor processing units, or TPUs—are generally recognized to be the most formidable competition to Nvidia on the market.
From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026
On 16th-century battlefields, formidable armored cavalrymen were overwhelmed by groups of foot soldiers armed with long-barreled guns.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
The challenge of reconciling the dilemma was even more formidable than the Protestant ideal of literacy that expected converts to read the Bible and sing out of the Psalter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
She turned to her husband, and, despite her disheveled and undignified appearance, managed to look quite formidable, “You engineered this, didn't you?”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
