Definitions for: Dare


[n] a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy; "he could never refuse a dare"
[v] challenge; "I dare you!"
[v] take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission; "How dare you call my lawyer?"
[v] to be courageous enough to try or do something; "I don't dare call him", "she dares to dress differently from the others."



Webster (1913) Definition: Dare, v. i. [imp. Durstor Dared; p. p. Dared; p.
pr. & vb. n. Daring.] [OE. I dar, dear, I dare, imp.
dorste, durste, AS. ic dear I dare, imp. dorste. inf. durran;
akin to OS. gidar, gidorsta, gidurran, OHG. tar, torsta,
turran, Goth. gadar, gada['u]rsta, Gr. tharsei^n, tharrei^n,
to be bold, tharsy`s bold, Skr. Dhrsh to be bold. [root]70.]
To have adequate or sufficient courage for any purpose; to be
bold or venturesome; not to be afraid; to venture.

I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more
is none. --Shak.

Why then did not the ministers use their new law?
Bacause they durst not, because they could not.
--Macaulay.

Who dared to sully her sweet love with suspicion.
--Thackeray.

The tie of party was stronger than the tie of blood,
because a partisan was more ready to dare without
asking why. --Jowett
(Thu?yd.).

Note: The present tense, I dare, is really an old past tense,
so that the third person is he dare, but the form he
dares is now often used, and will probably displace the
obsolescent he dare, through grammatically as incorrect
as he shalls or he cans. --Skeat.

The pore dar plede (the poor man dare plead).
--P. Plowman.

You know one dare not discover you. --Dryden.

The fellow dares not deceive me. --Shak.

Here boldly spread thy hands, no venom'd weed
Dares blister them, no slimy snail dare creep.
--Beau. & Fl.

Note: Formerly durst was also used as the present. Sometimes
the old form dare is found for durst or dared.


Dare, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dared; p. pr. & vb. n.
Daring.]
1. To have courage for; to attempt courageously; to venture
to do or to undertake.

What high concentration of steady feeling makes men
dare every thing and do anything? --Bagehot.

To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes.
--The Century.

2. To challenge; to provoke; to defy.

Time, I dare thee to discover Such a youth and such
a lover. --Dryden.


Dare, n.
1. The quality of daring; venturesomeness; boldness; dash.
[R.]

It lends a luster . . . A large dare to our great
enterprise. --Shak.

2. Defiance; challenge.

Childish, unworthy dares Are not enought to part our
powers. --Chapman.

Sextus Pompeius Hath given the dare to C[ae]sar.
--Shak.


Dare, v. i. [OE. darien, to lie hidden, be timid.]
To lurk; to lie hid. [Obs.] --Chaucer.


Dare, v. t.
To terrify; to daunt. [Obs.]

For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs,
Would dare a woman. --Beau. & Fl.

To dare larks, to catch them by producing terror through to
use of mirrors, scarlet cloth, a hawk, etc., so that they
lie still till a net is thrown over them. --Nares.


Dare, n. [See Dace.] (Zo["o]l.)
A small fish; the dace.

Synonyms: daring, defy, make bold, presume to

See Also: act, brazen, challenge, challenge, move

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