dare
to have the necessary courage or boldness for something; be bold enough: You wouldn't dare!
to meet defiantly; face courageously:They dared the waves of the North Atlantic.
to challenge or provoke (a person) into a demonstration of courage; defy: We dared him to show up at school dressed that way.
to have the necessary courage or boldness to (used chiefly in questions and negatives): How dare you speak to me like that? He dare not mention the subject again.
a challenge or provocation posed to someone to test their boldness or courage:I accepted the dare.
an action proposed to someone as a challenge or test of boldness or courage:Will he be able to complete the dare?She knew it was going to be a humiliating dare.
dare say. See entry at daresay.
Idioms about dare
on a dare, in response to being challenged to attempt something dangerous or bold: She scaled the wall on a dare.
Origin of dare
1synonym study For dare
Other words for dare
Other words from dare
- dar·er, noun
- re·dare, verb (used with object), re·dared, re·dar·ing.
- un·dared, adjective
Words Nearby dare
Other definitions for Dare (2 of 3)
Vir·gin·ia [ver-jin-yuh], /vərˈdʒɪn yə/, 1587–?, daughter of Lost Colony settlers, the first child born in the Americas to English parents.
Other definitions for DARE (3 of 3)
Dictionary of American Regional English.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dare in a sentence
The man who removed the dolphin from the Indus River that Jabbar and his colleagues were trying to save told a judge he was responding to an impromptu dare by a friend.
In defiance, I held my ticket above my head, which triggered the spitting and chants of “How dare You!”
Despite the 21 years I did in prison for a drug conviction, I am assimilating back into mainstream or, dare I say, white America.
We feel their strangeness when we read their words—they lived on a plane where few dare to tread.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun | Katie Baker | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhile it may not leave you with many profound truths, I dare you not to fall in love.
He adds: “None of the fighters will dare touch it, if an emir has given permission.”
None other would dare to show herself unveiled to a stranger, and a white man at that.
The Red Year | Louis TracyI never dare venture over except as the guest of some more fortunate friend.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonI do not know—I do not dare to believe—that I shall live to hear that key grating in the lock.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsShe would not dare to choose, and begged that Mademoiselle Reisz would please herself in her selections.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinFor accurate work the best instruments are the von Fleischl-Miescher and the dare.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for dare
/ (dɛə) /
(tr) to challenge (a person to do something) as proof of courage
(can take an infinitive with or without to) to be courageous enough to try (to do something): she dares to dress differently from the others; you wouldn't dare!
(tr) rare to oppose without fear; defy
I dare say or I daresay
(it is) quite possible (that)
probably: used as sentence substitute
a challenge to do something as proof of courage
something done in response to such a challenge
Origin of dare
1usage For dare
Derived forms of dare
- darer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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