dauntless
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dauntless
Explanation
A dauntless person is someone who isn't easily frightened or intimidated. If your dance moves bring to mind a marionette being jerked around by a five-year-old but you jump on the dance floor anyway, you could be considered dauntless. The adjective dauntless is a variant of the noun daunt, which means "to intimidate or cause fear." Both words are related to another family of "D" words — dominate, domestic, domain. They all go back to the Latin root domare, which means "to tame." If you're dauntless, it means you're like a tiger or a wild horse — you can't be dominated or tamed.
Vocabulary lists containing dauntless
Power Suffix: -less
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"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The film, which Focus Features will release in 250 nationwide theaters on June 30, shines a warm spotlight on a much-misunderstood community, and three of its most dauntless champions.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
Until now, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has largely presented Midge’s arc as a dauntless upward climb.
From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
It fit that when Elena Rybakina’s last dauntless forehand landed just long to end matters at 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, Sabalenka fell to the court, stared upward and sobbed.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2023
How free divers, tech experts and dauntless actors helped James Cameron redefine underwater photography with ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
This isn’t quite as good, although it has its own song: In days of yore, from Britain’s shore, Wolfe, the dauntless hero, came And planted firm Britannia’s flag On Canada’s fair domain.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
