Dare Meaning
/dɛə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo have enough courage (to do something).
verbTo defy or challenge (someone to do something).
Sentence Examples
How dare you say such a thing to me?
How dare you speak to me like that?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Only a fool would ____ to enter the abandoned mine alone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
How ____ you say such a thing to me?
Word Origin & History
From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-West Germanic *durʀan, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an *-s- extension of *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). Cognates Cognate with Low German dören, Dutch durven, German turren, Sanskrit दधर्ष (dadhárṣa), but also with Ancient Greek θρασύς (thrasús), Albanian nder, Lithuanian drįsti, Russian дерза́ть (derzátʹ).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The fellow dares not deceive me."
— 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
"Why then did not the ministers use their new law? Because they durst not, because they could not."
— 1832, Thomas Macaulay, Parliamentary Reform:
"Don't back away just yet / From destinations set / I dare you to be proud / To dare to shout aloud / For convictions that you feel / Like sound from bells to peal"
— 1980, “Double Dare”, in In the Flat Field, performed by Bauhaus, Track 1:
"Particular note, in this period, should be made of the actions of Joseph Denman, commander of the Northern Division of the Squadron, who went on an absolutely ruthless and systematic campaign along the African coast, burning so-called "slaving factories" to the ground and openly daring anyone who objected to try and stop him."
— 2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 9:26 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2024:
"To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes."
— 1886, Clarence King, The Century:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Only a fool would ____ to enter the abandoned mine alone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
How ____ you say such a thing to me?