“Daunt” is a verb that means to make someone feel nervous, afraid, or less confident about doing something, often by intimidating or discouraging them.

Core meaning

  • To daunt someone is to intimidate them or take away their courage or determination.
  • It suggests that a task, situation, or person feels so difficult or overwhelming that it discourages you from going forward.

Example in a sentence:

  • “The size of the project would daunt most people.”

Word forms and related words

  • Base verb: daunt (This challenge does not daunt her.)
  • -ing form: daunting = intimidating, overwhelming.
    • “A daunting task” means a task that seems very difficult or scary.
  • Past tense / past participle: daunted.
    • “He felt daunted by the exam.”
  • Opposite idea: undaunted = not discouraged or not afraid in the face of difficulty.

Quick nuance check

You’ll usually see “daunt” in contexts like:

  • Big, difficult tasks: “She was daunted by the responsibility.”
  • Challenges that test courage: “The danger did not daunt the rescuers.”
  • Formal or written English, rather than everyday casual speech.

Mini tip to remember it:
Think of “daunt” as “to intimidate or discourage someone so much that they hesitate or lose confidence.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.