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formidable

   Also found in: Legal, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
for·mi·da·ble  (fôrm-d-bl, fôr-md-)
adj.
1. Arousing fear, dread, or alarm: the formidable prospect of major surgery.
2. Inspiring awe, admiration, or wonder: "Though a true hero, he was also a thoroughgoing bureaucrat and politician, a formidable combination" (Mario Puzo).
3. Difficult to undertake, surmount, or defeat: a formidable challenge; a formidable opponent.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin formdbilis, from formdre, to fear, from formd, fear.]

formi·da·bili·ty, formi·da·ble·ness n.
formi·da·bly adv.
Usage Note: Traditionally formidable has been pronounced with stress on the first syllable, but recently the pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, which is a common variant in British English, appears to be on the rise in American English. The traditional pronunciation is apparently still preferred by a large majority of educated speakers, however. A recent survey shows that 80 percent of the Usage Panel use the pronunciation (fôrm-d-bl), while 14 percent use (fôr-md-bl). A few Panelists approved both pronunciations.

formidable [ˈfɔːmɪdəbəl]
adj
1. arousing or likely to inspire fear or dread
2. extremely difficult to defeat, overcome, manage, etc. a formidable problem
3. tending to inspire awe or admiration because of great size, strength, excellence, etc.
[from Latin formīdābilis, from formīdāre to dread, from formīdō fear]
formidability , formidableness n
formidably  adv
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.formidable - 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's disposal"
impressive - making a strong or vivid impression; "an impressive ceremony"
2.formidable - 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 grey wall"
alarming - frightening because of an awareness of danger

formidable
adjective
1. difficult, taxing, challenging, overwhelming, staggering, daunting, mammoth, colossal, arduous, very great, onerous, toilsome We have a formidable task ahead of us.
difficult easy
2. impressive, great, powerful, tremendous, mighty, terrific, awesome, invincible, indomitable, redoubtable, puissant She looked every bit as formidable as her mother.
Translations
formidable [ˈfɔːmɪdəbl] ADJ [person] → formidable; [opponent] → temible; [task, challenge, obstacle] → tremendo, impresionante; [reputation, team, combination, talents] → formidable, extraordinario
he has a formidable tempertiene un genio tremendo
she was a formidable womanera una mujer formidable or que imponía

formidable [fərˈmɪdəbəl ˈfɔːrmɪdəbəl] adj [task] → ardu(e); [person, opponent] → redoutable; [reputation] → impressionnant(e)

formidable
adj (= commanding respect) personAchtung gebietend; intellect, intelligenceüberragend; (= powerful, impressive) challenge, achievement, task, obstacle, strength, energy, heightgewaltig; person, reputationbeeindruckend; opponentmächtig; sightüberwältigend; talentsaußerordentlich; team, combinationaußerordentlich stark; she is small but formidablesie ist klein aber oho (inf); to be in formidable formin absoluter Hochform sein

formidable [ˈfɔːmɪdəbl] adj (task, difficulties) → formidabile, terribile; (person, appearance) → che incute rispetto
formidable [ˈfɔːmɪdəbl] adj (task, difficulties) → formidabile, terribile; (person, appearance) → che incute rispetto

formidable
adj formidable [ˈfoːmidəbl, fəːˈmidəbl]
1 rather frightening a formidable appearance. formidabele مُخيف، رَهيب، مُريع страшен hrozivý, strašný frygtindgydende furchtbar φοβερός, που προκαλεί φόβο temible, imponente heidutav مهیب pelottava terrible מַפחִיד दुर्जेय opasan, koji ulijeva strah félelme(te)s menakutkan ægilegur, óárennilegur spaventoso 恐ろしい 무서운 baisingas, siaubingas briesmīgs menakutkan ontzagwekkend fryktinngytende, imponerende, formidabel groźny temível teribil устрашающий hrôzu naháňajúci strašen strašan fruktansvärd, respektingivande น่ากลัว korkunç, ürkütücü 可怕的 грізний خوفناک kinh khủng
2 very difficult to overcome formidable difficulties. ontsaglike هائِن صَعْب труден за преодоляване nesmírný, obrovský formidabel beachtlich αξεπέραστος enorme kohutav دشوار lannistava redoutable אַדִיר कठिन nepremostiv, velik nagyarányú sulit diatasi mjög erfiður temibile 手ごわい 극복하기 어려운 sunkiai įveikiamas grūts; grūti pārvarams sukar diatasi schrikbarend nesten uoverkommelig, enorm, formidabel ogromny, ciężki temível redutabil труднопреодолимый neľahký, hrozný neznanski težak väldig, nästan oöverstiglig ซึ่งยากที่จะจัดการ çözümü güç, baş edilmez 難以克服的 непереборний دشوار ghê gớm
adv formidably
formidabele بصورة مُريعَه أو رَهيبَه страшно hrozivě; nesmírně frygtindgydende; formidabelt furchtbar, beachtlich φοβερά temiblemente, tremendamente kohutavalt بطور هولناک یا سخت hirvittävästi formidablement בְּצוּרָה מַפחִידָה दुर्जेयतापूर्वक opasno, mocno félelmetesen kuat feikilega terribilmente 恐ろしく 놀랄 정도로, 막강하게 baisingai briesmīgi sifat takut ontzagwekkend, schrikbarend formidabelt groźnie temivelmente formidabil de труднопреодолимо hrozivo neznansko strašno fruktansvärt, väldigt อย่างน่ากลัว ürkütücü şekilde 可怕地 грізно خوفناکی سے dữ dội; kinh khủng


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The North is generally the region of strength, and many local circumstances render it probable that the most Northern of the proposed confederacies would, at a period not very distant, be unquestionably more formidable than any of the others.
Our Soldiers and Lowest Classes of Workmen are Triangles with two equal sides, each about eleven inches long, and a base or third side so short (often not exceeding half an inch) that they form at their vertices a very sharp and formidable angle.
It may be imagined that a gentleman so qualified and so disposed, was in no danger of becoming formidable to the learned seminaries of Eton or Westminster.
 
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