redoubtable

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /rɪˈdaʊtəbəl/ UK /rɪˈdaʊtəbəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
formidable and commanding respect or fear

She proved a redoubtable opponent across the chessboard.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · formidable and commanding... formidable fearsome daunting mighty awesome intimidating powerful

Opposites

weak feeble contemptible insignificant

Word family

Derived forms redoubtablyredoubtableness

Related forms redoubt doubt dubious

Etymology

From Old French redoutable, from redouter ('to dread, fear'), from re- (intensive) + douter ('to doubt, fear'), from Latin dubitare ('to waver, hesitate').

redoutable Old French dubitare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

# redoubtable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** rɪˈdaʊtəbəl
**IPA (UK):** rɪˈdaʊtəbəl

## Meanings
1. formidable and commanding respect or fear

## Examples
- She proved a redoubtable opponent across the chessboard.

## Synonyms
- formidable
- fearsome
- daunting
- mighty
- awesome
- intimidating
- powerful

## Antonyms
- weak
- feeble
- contemptible
- insignificant

## Derived Forms
- redoubtably
- redoubtableness

## Related Forms
- redoubt
- doubt
- dubious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: redoutable
- Root: dubitare

## Etymology
From Old French redoutable, from redouter ('to dread, fear'), from re- (intensive) + douter ('to doubt, fear'), from Latin dubitare ('to waver, hesitate').

## AI Etymology
Redoubtable comes from Old French redoutable, from redouter ('to dread, fear'), from re- (intensive) + douter ('to doubt, fear'), from Latin dubitare ('to waver, hesitate'). The historical chain includes Old French redoutable and Latin dubitare. Older glosses in the chain include "to dread, fear", "to doubt, fear", and "to waver, hesitate", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, redoubtable is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "formidable and commanding respect or fear". English derivatives include redoubtably and redoubtableness; related forms include redoubt, doubt, and dubious. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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