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.
With John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Hagrid and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, the cast is just as formidable and star-studded as the films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
The company pioneered a formidable model that is hard to replicate, said Ken Pucker, a sustainable fashion expert at Tufts University.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
In southwestern France, the hurdles to adaptation are formidable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
“There are entrenched businesses like Salesforce that own a very proprietary set of data that make them much more formidable in this new era, and also probably a much bigger benefactor of the technology.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 30, 2026
When fighting between Spaniards and Incas finally did commence after Atahuallpa’s execution, the Spanish forces were more formidable.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
