Join free

redoubtable

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

redoubtable

  • /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/ UK
  • /ɹəˈdaʊtəb(ə)l/ US
  • /ɹi-/ US
  • [-ɾə-] US

Where it comes from

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.

adjective more redoubtable · most redoubtable

  1. humorous, sometimes, in a positive sense Eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing. The redoubtable New York Times has been called the “newspaper of record” of the United States.

    Opposite: unredoubtable

  2. in a negative sense 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⸝ […]

    Opposite: unredoubtable

noun redoubtables

  1. humorous, in plural, often, sometimes, in a positive sense A person who elicits respect.
  2. in plural, often, in a negative sense 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

Translations

Every language

adj eliciting respect — see also awe-inspiring, imposing

Françaisredoutable
Deutschehrfurchtgebietend, ehrfurchterweckend, respekteinflößend

noun person who elicits respect

DeutschEhrfurcht einflößende Person, respekteinflößende Person

noun person who elicits dread or fear

Deutschfurchteinflößende Person

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"redoubtable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/redoubtable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

redoubtable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/redoubtable

Chicago

"redoubtable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/redoubtable.

BibTeX
@misc{redoubtable_2026,
  title = {redoubtable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/redoubtable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}