redoubtable
/ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/
"redoubtable" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“redoubtable” is uncommon English (frequency #78,998 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,998
- frequency rank, English
- 21,470
- “R” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Especially of a person.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | redoubtable |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #78,998 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “redoubtable” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
redoubtable is uncommon English at frequency #78,998 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for redoubtable, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Late Middle English redoutable (“worthy of honour, venerable; frightening, terrible”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman redoutable and Middle French redoutable, redoubtable, from Old French redotable (modern French redoutable), from … The correct English form is redoubtable, spelled R-E-D-O-U-B-T-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Especially of a person.
- 2Especially of a person.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English redoutable (“worthy of honour, venerable; frightening, terrible”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman redoutable and Middle French redoutable, redoubtable, from Old French redotable (modern French redoutable), from redoter (“to fear”) (whence Middle French redoubter, redouter, French redouter) + -able (suffix meaning ‘deserving of, worthy of’). Redoter is derived from re- (intensifying prefix) + doter (“to doubt; to fear”) (from Latin dubitō (“to doubt, be uncertain, waver in opinion”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“apart, asunder; two”) + *bʰuH- (“to appear; to be; to become; to grow”), in the sense of being in two minds). The noun is derived from the adjective.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “redoubtable”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-D-O-U-B-T-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈdaʊtəbl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.