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Mighty vs Formidable - What's the difference?

mighty | formidable |

As adjectives the difference between mighty and formidable

is that mighty is very strong; possessing might while formidable is causing fear, dread, awe or admiration as a result of size, strength, or some other impressive quality; commanding respect; causing wonder or astonishment.

As a noun mighty

is influential, powerful beings.

As an adverb mighty

is very; to a high degree.

mighty

English

Noun

(en-plural noun)
  • Influential, powerful beings.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist), author=Lexington
    • , title= Keeping the mighty honest , passage=British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty', or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the ' mighty so far.}}

    Noun

    (mighties)
  • (obsolete, rare) A warrior of great strength and courage.
  • * Bible , 1 Chronicles 11:12, King James Version:
    • And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Very strong; possessing might.
    • He's a mighty wrestler, but you are faster than him.
  • * Bible, Job ix. 4
    • Wise in heart, and mighty in strength.
  • Very heavy and powerful.
    • Thor swung his mighty hammer.
    He gave the ball a mighty hit.
  • Accomplished by might; hence, extraordinary; wonderful.
  • * Bible, Matthew xi. 20
    • His mighty works
  • * Hawthorne
    • Mighty was their fuss about little matters.
  • (informal) Excellent, extremely good.
    • Tonight's a mighty opportunity to have a party.
    She's a mighty cook.

    Derived terms

    * high and mighty

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (colloquial) Very; to a high degree.
    • You can leave that food in your locker for the weekend, but it's going to smell mighty bad when you come back on Monday.
    Pork chops boiled with turnip greens makes a mighty fine meal.
  • * Samuel Pepys
    • The lady is not heard of, and the King mighty angry and the Lord sent to the Tower.
  • * 1918 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), Chapter IV
    • I was mighty glad that our entrance into the interior of Caprona had been inside a submarine rather than in any other form of vessel. I could readily understand how it might have been that Caprona had been invaded in the past by venturesome navigators without word of it ever reaching the outside world, for I can assure you that only by submarine could man pass up that great sluggish river, alive.

    Related terms

    * might * almighty * mightiness

    Statistics

    * English degree adverbs

    formidable

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • causing fear, dread, awe or admiration as a result of size, strength, or some other impressive quality; commanding respect; causing wonder or astonishment
  • difficult to defeat or overcome
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 9 , author=John Percy , title=Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report , work=the Telegraph citation , page= , passage=Holloway has unfinished business in the Premier League after relegation last year and he will make a swift return if he can overcome West Ham a week on Saturday. Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, will be acutely aware that when the stakes are high, Blackpool are simply formidable .}}