1
as in terrifying
causing fear
a formidable, irascible old man who frightened the neighborhood children
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
running a marathon is a formidable undertaking
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of formidable
Boreing, Ben Shapiro and Caleb Robinson built The Daily Wire into a formidable player in conservative media.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
Incidentally, Penn was up against four formidable fellow actors, including two septuagenarian first-time nominees, Sentimental Value’s Stellan Skarsgard and Sinners’ Lindo.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
Senior left-hander Nate Brezak (Polk State), senior left-hander Callum Morrison and senior right-hander Luke Pasquesi are a formidable trio.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
The challenge is formidable, said Larisa Brown in The Times.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formidable
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
Incidentally, Penn was up against four formidable fellow actors, including two septuagenarian first-time nominees, Sentimental Value’s Stellan Skarsgard and Sinners’ Lindo.
—Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Mar. 2026
Senior left-hander Nate Brezak (Polk State), senior left-hander Callum Morrison and senior right-hander Luke Pasquesi are a formidable trio.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
The challenge is formidable, said Larisa Brown in The Times.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for formidable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for formidable
Adjective
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The fascinating — and perhaps slightly terrifying — part of this particular season is that both outcomes seem equally possible.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Scary is subjective, but for many people, HHN is terrifying.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Kansas played the Blue Devils close and made life difficult for Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, largely thanks to Flory Bidunga’s defense.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
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Parents in attendance shared appreciation for seeing teens connect with older adults, especially during a stage of life when meaningful conversation at home can sometimes feel more difficult.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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While any leukemia diagnosis is frightening, the prognosis for hairy cell leukemia is generally excellent with treatment, Tsarwhas, the LFH oncology director, noted.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
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The risk of crew loss during the Apollo moon missions was a rather frightening 1 in 10, according to the OIG report.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In his 12 seasons, the Mustangs have played a challenging independent schedule featuring many Class 3A and 4A programs.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2026
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This challenging late-season stretch comes with the Heat trying to avoid the play-in tournament for the first time in four years.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Certainly, that off feeling had to do with some very scary changes across the film and media industries, where many people feel doomed to lose their jobs.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2026
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This time, though, the scary skeleton was gone.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Middle linebacker is one of the toughest positions to play in today’s game, but Smith has the mental makeup to run the front of this defense.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
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The Senate map will likely get tougher for Democrats in future elections.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Even if the football this summer is terrible, plenty of the teams are going to look great.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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In the 1970s-1980s, all the agricultural talk in the Mississippi Delta was whether the boll weevil would be terrible or just awful this coming fall.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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These included funding more rigorous trials for therapies and improving communication devices.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
20 Mar. 2026
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For the next several hours—the film, though extraordinarily rigorous, is not bound by the strictures of real time—Kornev’s persistence will be met with deflections, delays, and excuses.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Formidable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/formidable. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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