redoubtable
Syllables: re·doubt·a·ble/ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩//ɹəˈdaʊtəb(ə)l/
redoubtable adjective: eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing.
Adjective
redoubtable (comparative more redoubtable, superlative most redoubtable)
- Eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing.
- The redoubtable New York Times has been called the “newspaper of record” of the United States.
- VVhere ſuch an other Rodomont, ſo furious, ſo valorous, ſo redoutable?1593, Gabriell Haruey [i.e., Gabriel Harvey], Pierces Supererogation: Or A New Prayse of the Old Asse. A Preparative to Certaine Larger Discourses, Intituled Nashes S. Fame, London: […] Iohn Wolfe...
- Antonyms:
- unredoubtable
- Eliciting dread or fear; appalling, formidable.
- [I]t pleaſed the grekes at that tyme to ſe yͤ body of Hector ſo trayned by Achilles⸝ bycauſe he was wont to be ſo redoubtab[l]e to them⸝ […]1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “Of the Verbe”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns...
- Revers'd that ſpear, redoubtable in war, / Reclined that banner, erſt in fields unfurl'd, / That like a deathful meteor, gleam'd afar, / And brav'd the mighty monarchs of the world.— […]1787 July 1 (date written), Robert Burns, “On the Death of Sir James Hunter Blair”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, volume III (Posthumous Poems), Kilmarnock, Scotland: […] James M‘Kie...
- Antonyms:
- unredoubtable
Noun
redoubtable (plural redoubtables)
- A person who elicits respect.
- A person who elicits dread or fear; a formidable person.
- Had you sought the Lady's court yourself.— / Faced the redoubtables composing it, / Flattered this, threatened that man, bribed the other,— / Pleaded, by writ and word and deed, your cause,— / Conquered a footing inch by painful inch,— / And, after long years' struggle, pounced at last / On her for...1844, Robert Browning, “Colombe’s Birthday. A Play.”, in Poems […], new edition, volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 337
redoubtable meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
redoubtable in Tamil
- கடும் இடல் வாய்ந்த, தோலாப் பேராற்றல் வாய்ந்த
redoubtable in Urdu
- عظیم, بہادر, شجاع
redoubtable in Bengali
- ভয়ঙ্কর, দুর্ধর্ষ
redoubtable in Malayalam
- fearsome, formidable, awe-inspiring
- ദുർധർഷനായ, ചെറുത്തുനിൽക്കാനൊക്കാത്ത, അപ്രതിരോധ്യ, ഭയാവഹ, ഉഗ്രനായ, പ്രബലനായ
More languagesFewer languages
- redoubtable in Kannada
- ಬಹುಗೌರವಿಸಲ್ಪಡುವ, ಭಯ ಭಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಬೇಕಾದ, ಸೋಲಿಸಲಾಗದ, ಅಜೇಯನಾದ
Examples of redoubtable in a sentence
- This new batch was sent to Leicester shed, and the redoubtable enginemen who had made such a reputation for themselves with the ex-G.C.R.1941 September, O[swald] S[tevens] Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part V”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press...
- Three local yobs have also joined, but they have not reckoned on a redoubtable Conductor and two local revenue protection officers who soon escort them off the train!2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New Trains, Old Trains, and Splendid Scenery”, in Rail, number 969, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer...
- Inwardly she quaked, because she dreaded and admired the calm, self-contained character of her daughter Winnie, whose displeasure was made redoubtable by a diversity of dreadful silences.1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter VIII, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright...
Antonyms of redoubtable
Forms of redoubtable
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more redoubtable |
| superlative | most redoubtable |
| Noun | |
| plural | redoubtables |
Origin of redoubtable
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.
Words formed from redoubtable
Questions about redoubtable
- What does redoubtable mean?
- Redoubtable means eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing.
- What is redoubtable in Tamil?
- Redoubtable in Tamil is கடும் இடல் வாய்ந்த, தோலாப் பேராற்றல் வாய்ந்த. See Redoubtable meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use redoubtable in a sentence?
- This new batch was sent to Leicester shed, and the redoubtable enginemen who had made such a reputation for themselves with the ex-G.C.R.
- What part of speech is redoubtable?
- Redoubtable can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce redoubtable?
- Redoubtable is pronounced /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/ (UK).
Words near redoubtable in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: redoubtable (page history and authors); redoubtable (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); redoubtable (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); redoubtable (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); redoubtable (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); redoubtable (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-redoubtable.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-redoubtable.wav.
Cite this entry: “redoubtable.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/redoubtable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.