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.
But for people entering the labor force, like new high-school and college graduates, it is daunting.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
And when you’re in that place, a full reset can feel not just daunting, but impossible.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
To adapt a hallowed and revered work of this scope, across decades and generations, brimming with magical realism, was, of course, daunting for the showrunners.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
"We know this is a daunting and difficult thing to do," said PPS Senior Public Prosecutor Jenny Burns.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
He thought about all those months he’d spent creating the Argo II. Somehow, making a boat to sail from Ogygia seemed like a more daunting task.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions 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.
