formidable

CEFRC1

/fɔːˈmɪdəbəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Very strong, difficult, or impressive and therefore hard to deal with.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Difficult to defeat or overcome.

Examples

  • The pursuit of European history is a formidable task.

  • He is a formidable opponent.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Causing fear, dread, awe, or discouragement as a result of size, strength, or some other impressive feature; commanding respect; causing wonder or astonishment.

More examples

In context

  • The wrestler has a formidable grip.

  • a formidable opponent

  • […] and I am more afraid of those people than I am of Anytus and his colleagues, although they are formidable enough.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The champion boxer's skill and strength made him a blank opponent that nobody wanted to face.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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