formidable
- 01 C1 Advanced
very powerful or impressive in a way that makes you feel respect or a little bit of fear.
inspiring fear, dread, or awe through impressive size, power, or capability.
Simple“The champion was a formidable opponent who had never lost a match.”
In context“The CEO had a formidable reputation for efficiency, which made even the most senior managers nervous during their annual reviews.”
SynonymsAntonymsweakunimpressive - 02 C1 Advanced
very difficult to deal with or defeat.
presenting a significant obstacle or challenge that is difficult to surmount.
Simple“The team faced a formidable task when they had to rebuild the bridge in two days.”
In context“Climbing the north face of the mountain remains a formidable challenge, even for the most experienced mountaineers using modern equipment.”
Synonyms
“The front runners are dynamic politicians and formidable leaders.”
“Hidden inside the fossil were pincerlike limbs and preserved soft tissues that help explain how the ancestors of spiders and scorpions evolved into formidable hunters.”
From Middle English formidable, from Old French formidable, formible, from Latin formīdābilis (“formidable, terrible”), from formīdō (“fear, dread”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.