daunt

verb

ˈdȯnt 

ˈdänt

daunted; daunting; daunts

transitive verb

: to lessen the courage of : cow, subdue

… obstacles that would have daunted a man of less intrepid mind …

—Adeline Adams

Synonyms of daunt

• discourage
• frustrate

Choose the Right Synonym for daunt

dismay, appall, horrify, daunt mean to unnerve or deter by arousing fear, apprehension, or aversion.

dismay implies that one is disconcerted and at a loss as to how to deal with something.

dismayed at the size of the job

appall implies that one is faced with that which perturbs, confounds, or shocks.

I am appalled by your behavior

horrify stresses a reaction of horror or revulsion.

was horrified by such wanton cruelty

daunt suggests a cowing, disheartening, or frightening in a venture requiring courage.

a cliff that would daunt the most intrepid climber

Examples of daunt in a Sentence

the raging inferno didn't daunt the firefighters for a moment

Recent Examples on the Web

After struggling against winning teams at the beginning of the season, the Lakers faced a daunting stretch of games that included Minnesota, Denver and Houston along with a six-game trip. —Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026

Changes to federal student loan regulations have raised concerns across the country about how medical students entering school in the coming academic year will be able to cover a medical degree’s daunting price tag. —Suzanne King, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026

As if that isn’t daunting enough, Yahoo also will be vying against other popular AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude in addition to answer engines such as Perplexity. —Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2026

Starting over was first impossible, then daunting, and then slowly manifested through a combination of therapy and more spiritual remedies (brief flirtations with Scientology and the Nation of Islam didn’t take hold). —Jackson Howard, Pitchfork, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English daunten, borrowed from Anglo-French danter, daunter, going back to Latin domitāre "to subdue, bring under control," frequentative of domāre "to subdue, tame" — more at tame entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for daunt

• flaunt
• font
• gaunt
• haunt
• jaunt
• pont
• taunt
• vaunt
• want
• avant
• croissant
• detente

Kids Definition

daunt

verb

ˈdȯnt 

ˈdänt

: to lessen the courage of : make afraid