daring
UK/ˈdɛə.ɹɪŋ//ˈdɛɚ.ɪŋ/
daring is the present participle and gerund of dare.
Adjective
daring (comparative more daring, superlative most daring)
- Adventurous, willing to take on or look for risks; overbold.
- “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tremarn Case”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening &...
- Synonyms:
- audacious, dareful, bold, venturesome, adventuresome
- Courageous or showing bravery; doughty.
- […]By this scimitar,
That slew the Sophy and a Persian prince
That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,
I would outstare the sternest eyes that look,
Outbrave the heart most daring on earth,
Pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear,
Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey,
To win thee, lady....c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Synonyms:
- courageous, adventurous, mettlesome, aweless, bad, bold, brass-balled, chivalrous, daredevil, dauntless
- […]By this scimitar,
- Racy; sexually provocative.
- Just what I wanted, seeing my mom in a daring bikini—or worse yet, my being in one. I had the perfect drawer I could bury it in.2013, Randy Rawls, Best Defense, page 59
Meaning of dare
Verb (1)
dare (third-person singular simple present dares or (modal) dare or (obsolete) dast, present participle daring, simple past and past participle dared or (obsolete) durst)
- To have enough courage (to do something).
- I wouldn't dare (to) argue with my boss.
- Synonyms:
- venture
- To defy or challenge (someone to do something).
- I dare you to kiss that girl.
- To have enough courage to meet or do something, go somewhere, etc.; to face up to.
- Will you dare death to reach your goal?
- To terrify; to daunt.
- For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs, Would dare a woman.c. 1608–1611, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Maid’s Tragedy”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act IV...
- To drive larks to the ground by scaring them (for instance, with mirrors or hawks) so they can be caught in nets.
- I have an hobby can make larks to dare1516, John Skelton, Magnificence, Manchester University Press, →ISBN, page 35
Verb (2)
dare (third-person singular simple present dares, present participle daring, simple past and past participle dared)
Noun
daring (usually uncountable, plural darings)
Synonyms of daring
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of daring
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more daring |
| superlative | most daring |
| Noun | |
| plural | darings |
Words formed from daring
Phrases with daring
Words that rhyme with daring
Questions about daring
- What does daring mean?
- Daring means adventurous, willing to take on or look for risks; overbold.
- What is daring the present participle and gerund of?
- Daring is the present participle and gerund of dare.
- What part of speech is daring?
- Daring can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce daring?
- Daring is pronounced /ˈdɛə.ɹɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near daring in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: daring (page history and authors); dare (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-inlandnorth-daring.ogg.
Cite this entry: “daring.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/daring. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.