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FORMIDABLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Inspiring fear
Example:
something unnerving and prisonlike about high grey wall
Synonyms:
formidable; redoubtable; unnerving
Classified under:
Similar:
alarming (frightening because of an awareness of danger)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Extremely impressive in strength or excellence
Example:
the formidable army of brains at the Prime Minister's disposal
Classified under:
Similar:
impressive (making a strong or vivid impression)
Derivation:
formidability (impressive difficulty)
Context examples:
The important Tuesday came that was to introduce the two young ladies to this formidable mother-in-law.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
He was in a savage temper, and, standing over six feet from the ground, was as formidable an antagonist as even Buck could desire.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
From early dawn until nightfall he was running, jumping, striking a bladder which swung upon a bar, or sparring with his formidable trainer.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He owed a good deal in town, but his debts of honour were still more formidable.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
If this is living in the country, it is nothing very formidable.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
But it is a formidable case which they have to meet.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The formidable Henry soon followed her into the room, and the only difference in his behaviour to her was that he paid her rather more attention than usual.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The highest energies that we are observing within Jupiter's auroral regions are formidable.
(Jupiter's Auroras Present a Powerful Mystery, NASA)
Between these two formidable assailants the seamen were being slowly wedged more closely together, until they stood back to back under the mast with the rovers raging upon every side of them.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
True, Wolf Larsen possessed intellect to an unusual degree, but it was directed solely to the exercise of his savage instincts and made him but the more formidable a savage.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
