Both Uses of
formidable
in
Washington Square
- Our friend, however, escaped criticism: that is, he escaped all criticism but his own, which was much the most competent and most formidable.†
Chpt 1 *
- Her manners were strange and formidable, and her mourning robes—she dressed in black for twenty years after her husband's death, and then suddenly appeared one morning with pink roses in her cap—were complicated in odd, unexpected places with buckles, bugles, and pins, which discouraged familiarity.†
Chpt 3
Definition:
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(formidable) intimidating or impressive -- arousing fear or admiration due to impressiveness or challenge