formidable

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈfɔːmɪdəbəl/ 🇺🇸 /ˈfɔrmədəbəl/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Inspiring fear or dread; causing one to feel apprehensive or intimidated due to perceived strength, power, or difficulty.; Impressively great in size, amount, strength, or intensity; awe-inspiring.; Difficult to deal with, overcome, or accomplish; demanding great effort.; Commanding respect or admiration through excellence or outstanding quality.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more formidable Superlative: most formidable

Collocations

formidable opponentformidable challengeformidable taskformidable reputationformidable forceformidable obstacle

Derivatives

formidablyformidability

Synonyms

dauntingintimidatingimposingfearsomeredoubtableawesome

Antonyms

manageabletrivialeasy

Commonly confused

fearsome
EN: 'Fearsome' emphasizes causing fear; 'formidable' emphasizes inspiring respect or awe through strength or difficulty, not necessarily fear.
formidible
EN: 'Formidible' is a common misspelling; the correct form is 'formidable' with an 'a' before the final 'ble'.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the spelling is 'formidable' (not 'formidible' or 'formadable'). The stress can fall on either the first or second syllable (FOR-mi-da-ble or for-MI-da-ble), both are accepted.

💬 Examples

  1. The army faced a formidable enemy on the battlefield.

  2. She has a formidable intellect that few can match.

  3. The team faced a formidable challenge in completing the project on time.

  4. He built a formidable reputation as a surgeon over thirty years of practice.