formidably

UK/ˈfɔːɹ.mɪ.dəb.li/US/ˈfɔːɹ.mɪ.dəb.li/

adverbC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,042 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Formidably means to a degree that inspires respect and some fear. Formidably well prepared.

It is admiring rather than frightened, which is the balance the word keeps. The Latin behind it means causing dread, and English has softened it considerably.

Definitions of formidably

1adverbformidablyTo a degree that inspires respect and some fear.C2
“She was formidably well briefed and everybody in the room knew it.”

formidably is a manner.

Where it comes from

Latin formidabilis comes from formidare, to fear or dread.

Latin
formīdō — to fear, dread
English, today
formidably

From Latin formīdō (“to fear, dread”) -ably.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

formidably in the wild

Construction of the cut-and-cover route, only the fourth such in Great Britain, was formidably complex, but the line opened in 1886.
Glasgow City and District Railway
The club has participated in a number of tournaments taking place both in Turkey and abroad, and has formidably good relations with the rugby clubs of neighboring countries.
İstanbul Ottomans
By 1914, it was old, well-established and formidably large.
Stone's Justices' Manual
Active from the late 1930s into the 1960s, she has been called "formidably prolific" and credited with "some of the best" Soviet poster design in the era.
Nina Vatolina

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the formīdō family

formidable

formidably — used about once every 159,543 pages · #15,042 · point at the bar for the others

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