Definition of REDOUBTABLE

redoubtable

Meanings

Plural: redoubtables

Adjective Satellite

  • inspiring fear; ; - G.H.Johnston
    • "a tougher and more redoubtable adversary than the heel-clicking, jackbooted fanatic"
  • worthy of respect or honor
    • "born of a redoubtable family"

Adj

  • Especially of a person.
  • Eliciting respect; awe-inspiring, imposing.
  • 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.

Origin / 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).
The noun is derived from the adjective.

Synonyms

formidable, unnerving

Antonyms

unredoubtable

Scrabble Score: 16

redoubtable is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
redoubtable is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
redoubtable is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 20

redoubtable is a valid Words With Friends word