formidable
[ fawr-mi-duh-buhl ]
/ ˈfɔr mɪ də bəl /
adjective
causing fear, apprehension, or dread: a formidable opponent.
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.
Origin of formidable
1400–50; late Middle English < French < Latin
formīdābilis causing fear, equivalent to
formīd- (stem of
formīdāre to fear) +
-ābilis
-able
SYNONYMS FOR formidable
OTHER WORDS FROM formidable
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH formidable
formative formidableWords nearby formidable
formicarium,
formicary,
formicate,
formication,
formicivorous,
formidable,
formiminoglutamic acid,
formless,
formol,
formosa,
formosus
Example sentences from the Web for formidable
British Dictionary definitions for formidable
formidable
/ (ˈfɔːmɪdəbəl) /
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
Derived forms of formidable
formidability or formidableness, noun formidably, adverbWord Origin for formidable
C15: from Latin
formīdābilis, from
formīdāre to dread, from
formīdō fear