redoubtable means especially of a person.; Eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing. It carries an Arena rating of 1550, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, redoubtable ranks #1,433 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,643 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,764 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,433 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
redoubtable is pronounced /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/.
Why “redoubtable” is a great word
Eliciting respect or fear due to formidable strength, ability, or character. From the Anglo-Norman and Middle French redoutable, from Old French redoter ("to fear") + -able ("deserving of"), with redoter derived from re- (intensifying prefix) + doter ("to doubt; to fear"), from Latin dubitō ("to doubt"). Unlike "formidable" (which broadly describes anything awe-inspiring, from a steep cliff to a stern opponent) or "intimidating" (which suggests a more overt, discouraging threat), redoubtable specifically characterizes a person as commanding a profound, often venerated awe. It is the stillness of a general before a battle, the unyielding rigor of a master scholar's critique, and the formidable dignity of a patriarch whose very silence settles a room—a testament to power earned, and thus, power that truly binds.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English redoutable (“worthy of honour, venerable; frightening, terrible”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman redoutable and Middle French redoutable, redoubtable, from Old French redotable (modern French redoutable), from redoter (“to fear”) (whence Middle French redoubter, redouter, French redouter) + -able (suffix meaning ‘deserving of, worthy of’). Redoter is derived from re- (intensifying prefix) + doter (“to doubt; to fear”) (from Latin dubitō (“to doubt, be uncertain, waver in opinion”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“apart, asunder; two”) + *bʰuH- (“to appear; to be; to become; to grow”), in the sense of being in two minds). By surface analysis, redoubt (“to dread”) + -able. The noun is derived from the adjective.
adj
- Especially of a person.; Eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing.e.g.“The redoubtable New York Times has been called the “newspaper of record” of the United States.”
- Especially of a person.; Eliciting dread or fear; appalling, formidable.
noun
- A person who elicits respect.
- A person who elicits dread or fear; a formidable person.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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