daunting

daunt·ing | \ ˈdȯn-tiŋ

How to pronounce daunting (audio)

, ˈdän- \

Definition of daunting

: tending to overwhelm or intimidate a daunting task

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Examples of daunting in a Sentence

Few things are more daunting than having to speak in front of a large crowd. Shakespeare's plays can be daunting for a young reader.

Recent Examples on the Web But that’s becoming a more daunting task as the death count rises and hospital conditions worsen. — Los Angeles Times, "Deaths keep coming at one L.A. hospital as workers weep," 31 Dec. 2020 In the innumerable hurdles, one piled upon another, that make Black Americans’ climb up the socioeconomic ladder more daunting than ever, their successes more fragile and their setbacks more consequential. — Akilah Johnson, ProPublica, "How COVID-19 Hollowed Out a Generation of Young Black Men," 22 Dec. 2020 Otherwise, the cancellation of Saturday’s Michigan-OSU game because of COVID-19 concerns would’ve left the Wildcats with a much less daunting task, namely beating Indiana. — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Northwestern proved the skeptics wrong all season — and now must do it all over again against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game," 12 Dec. 2020 Having a couple familiar faces around can make the coming months less daunting. — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "How Steph Curry’s Under Armour camp became an asset for the Warriors," 5 Dec. 2020 But the vast, sweeping fantasy worlds that were once thrilling to explore now seemed more daunting than ever. — M. J. Lewis, Wired, "Among Us and a Resurgence of Narrative-Free Games," 4 Dec. 2020 Health officials hope that offering individuals options that seem less daunting than two weeks will lead to more people self-isolating and testing. — Popular Science, "The CDC says a shorter COVID quarantine is better than none," 2 Dec. 2020 Mitchell faces an even more daunting task advancing deep into the playoffs in the incredibly competitive Western Conference. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell rookie max extensions all about future security for teams, young stars," 22 Nov. 2020 Finding gifts for them becomes more daunting each year. — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, "Dear Abby: Charitable giving makes a great holiday present, especially this year," 17 Nov. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'daunting.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

11 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Daunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daunting. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021.

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