Formidable 一词源自拉丁语formidare（使害怕），15世纪中期经古法语formidable（可怕的、令人生畏的）进入英语开始用来表示“引起恐惧的”。这个概念发展到现在多用于形容人、事物或情况因为庞大、强大、强烈或有能力到令人印象深刻或看起来非常困难而使人对其感到恐惧或尊敬，也就是指“可怕的、令人敬畏的”以及“艰巨的、难对付的”，

比如：

He became furious at her brazen admission that she had been cheating on him. His formidable look frightened her.她恬不知耻地承认自己一直对他不忠，这令他非常愤怒。他可怕的神色吓坏了她。

They have overcome formidable obstacles to bridge the chasm between them.他们克服重重障碍，弥合了他们之间的鸿沟。

She was so reticent about her achievements that nowadays few people know that she was one of the most formidable intellects of her time.反过来往好了说时， formidable 则相应表示由于形状巨大、数量众多、出类拔萃等而“令人惊叹的、令人钦佩的”或者说“巨大的、优秀的、杰出的”，比如：她对自己的成就缄口不言，以至于现在很少有人知道她是当时的一名盖世英才。

They possess a formidable arsenal of rifles, machine guns, landmines and teargas.他们持有的步枪、机枪、地雷和催泪弹数量惊人。

In work on public wellbeing there are still many areas where we fall short; and poverty alleviation remains a formidable task. There are still large disparities in development between rural and urban areas, between regions, and in income distribution; and our people face many difficulties in employment, education, healthcare, housing, and elderly care.权威用例民生领域还有不少短板，脱贫攻坚任务艰巨，城乡区域发展和收入分配差距依然较大，群众在就业、教育、医疗、居住、养老等方面面临不少难题。

出自党的十九大报告（双语全文）

intimidating: having a frightening, overawing, or threatening effect forbidding: unfriendly or threatening in appearance redoubtable: (of a person) formidable, especially as an opponent同近义词