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formidabile

formidable

adjective for-mee-DAH-bee-leh Rare

Origin: From Latin formidabilis, causing fear.

Also means

tremendous

Usage Note

Formidabile is a false friend for English speakers: in Italian it most commonly means 'wonderful, tremendous, amazing' (una squadra formidabile = a great team) rather than the English sense of 'fearsome.' It is invariable in gender: un risultato formidabile, una vittoria formidabile. The original sense of 'terrifying' is archaic.

Examples

"Ha dato una prestazione formidabile sul palco."

Natural Translation

He gave a tremendous performance on stage.

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