Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Inspiring fear or awe; formidable: Describes something or someone that is intimidating, commanding respect through their strength, power, or excellence, often causing others to feel daunted.
   • Worthy of respect or honor; eminent: Describes someone who is highly distinguished and commands admiration due to their impressive qualities or achievements.

Usage and Examples

• Inspiring fear or awe:
  • The general was a redoubtable leader on the battlefield.
  • Facing the redoubtable defense of the champion, the challenger felt a wave of anxiety.
• Worthy of respect:
  • She is a redoubtable scholar in the field of ancient history.
  • The team overcame a redoubtable opponent to win the championship.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• The word often carries a dual connotation, combining a sense of threat or challenge with a sense of earned respect. It is typically used in formal or literary contexts.
• It can describe abstract concepts like challenges or reputations, not just people.
  • They embarked on the redoubtable task of reforming the entire legal system.
  • The company has a redoubtable reputation for quality and innovation.

Variants and Related Words

• Redoubtably (adverb): In a formidable or awe-inspiring manner.
  • He argued his case redoubtably before the court.

Synonyms

• Formidable: Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively powerful, intense, or capable.
• Daunting: Seeming difficult to deal with in anticipation; intimidating.
• Awesome (archaic/formal sense): Inspiring awe or admiration.
• Respectable: In its sense of being worthy of respect, though "redoubtable" implies a much stronger, more imposing form of respect.

Antonyms

• Unimpressive: Failing to inspire respect or attention.
• Feeble: Lacking strength or force; weak.
• Contemptible: Deserving scorn; despicable.

Idiomatic Usage

• While "redoubtable" itself is not commonly part of fixed idioms, it is used attributively to heighten the description of a noun.
  • a redoubtable foe
  • a redoubtable intellect
  • a redoubtable fortress

Adjective

1. worthy of respect or honor
   • born of a redoubtable family
2. 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