daunt

American  

[dawnt, dahnt] / dɔnt, dɑnt /

verb (used with object)

1. to overcome with fear; intimidate.

   to daunt one's adversaries.

   Synonyms:

   frighten, dismay, subdue, overawe

2. to lessen the courage of; dishearten.

   Don't be daunted by the amount of work still to be done.

   Synonyms:

   dispirit, discourage

   Antonyms:

   encourage

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daunt British  

/ dɔːnt /

verb

1. to intimidate

2. to dishearten

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Usage

What does daunt mean? Daunt means to intimidate. This intimidation can be a pretty serious fear, like that of a warrior who daunts enemies in battle. More commonly, though, daunt means to intimidate in a way that’s disheartening, like a task that daunts you because it seems impossible. People who are intimidated in such a way can be described with the adjective daunted. An even more commonly used adjective is daunting, which comes from the continuous tense (the -ing form) of daunt. If a task is daunting, it’s intimidating or overwhelming in a way that makes you not even want to try to do it. Example: When I first started at this job, I was really daunted by my first assignment, which was reorganizing 10 years’ worth of files.

Other Word Forms

• daunter noun
• dauntingly adverb
• dauntingness noun
• undaunting adjective

Etymology

Origin of daunt

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English da(u)nten, from Anglo-French da(u)nter, Old French danter, alteration of donter (probably by influence of dangier “power, authority”; danger ), from Latin domitāre “to tame,” derivative of domitus “tamed,” past participle of domāre “to tame”

Explanation

Daunt means to frighten or scare off. The Cowardly Lion's efforts to daunt Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man were less than successful. Daunt rhymes with haunt, another word which means to frighten, though in a creepier sense. Walking through your neighbors' haunted house on Halloween might daunt your little brother, even though he's unlikely to encounter anything scarier than plastic skeletons and ghosts made of sheets. Daunt often shows up as part of the adjective undaunted, which describes someone who remains unafraid or perseveres in the face of scary circumstances.

Example Sentences

“Ragtime” draws a portrait of America at a time of turmoil with broad dramatic strokes and emotional specificity, a high-wire act that might daunt the likes of Houdini—yet another character in the show.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

Nor do they daunt the current crop of entrepreneurs, who are mostly recycling old buildings, not putting up new ones.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2023

There’s also this: Nadal never seems to take a point off, never seems to let an on-court situation daunt him, never gives in or gives up.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2022

"Don’t let anything daunt you or take you away from that mission. This legislation is not going to do that. Keep becoming a citizen of this country."

From Fox News • Jan. 9, 2022

The mountains seemed to be trying with their deadly breath to daunt them, to turn them back from the secrets of the high places, or to blow them away into the darkness behind.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• baffle
• deter
• discourage
• dishearten
• dismay
• dispirit
• horrify
• intimidate
• scare
• subdue
• terrify