Link Centre Dictionary

formidable

for·mi·dable

UK/fɔːˈmɪdəbəl/ US/fəˈmɪdəbəl/ fairly common

adjective

1.

extremely impressive in strength or excellence

  • “a formidable opponent”
  • “the challenge was formidable”
  • “had a formidable array of compositions to his credit”
  • “the formidable army of brains at the Prime Minister”
Similar
2.

inspiring fear

  • “the formidable prospect of major surgery”
  • “a tougher and more redoubtable adversary than the heel-clicking, jackbooted fanatic” G.H.Johnston
  • “something unnerving and prisonlike about high gray wall”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle English formidable, from Old French formidable, formible, from Latin formīdābilis (“formidable, terrible”) (whence -able), from formīdō (“fear, dread”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.