- present participle of daunt.
daunting
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something daunting can scare you off. If you have a lot of studying to do, it may seem like a daunting task. Good news is you can get through it by working hard. Or weasel out of it by playing sick. Often used in the phrases “daunting prospect” and “daunting task,” daunting describes something that you are not looking forward to doing. Having to fill out complicated tax forms every year is a daunting task for many people. Once a daunting task is complete, you no longer describe it as daunting, but instead can call it a job well done, or at least another life experience survived.
Vocabulary lists containing daunting
The Alchemist
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 1
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Haugen and Horwitz battled similarly daunting foes, and the rot they uncovered was just as systemic and frightening as the reporting.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Having a kid is daunting in about a hundred different ways, period — but it’s just getting more and more challenging financially,” Matt Schultz, chief consumer-finance analyst at LendingTree, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
It is a daunting challenge for a Nike lifer who became head of its China business this spring—one that carries outsize importance for a sports giant that is struggling globally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
But Louise Kennedy, the author of Trespasses, seems unfazed with the daunting notion of what is often called second book syndrome.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The challenge ahead looked more daunting than ever.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
