to I dare say
- idiom
- UK
- I dare say it will be a lovely day for a picnic.
And if you have not tweaked your bio, then I dare say you haven't yet.
- And if you have not tweaked your bio, then I dare say you haven't yet.
- Japan, right in the middle of major reforms, is now making, I dare say, a quantum leap.
- And if you do that, friends, I dare say that we will raise great children who will become great humans and leaders, and they will save this wonderful country of ours.
- Yes, it's and I believe it's, I believe, I dare say it is.
- And I, you know, I dare say that that that bottle probably is like Hakaksi or something, you know, for locally brewed sake from a Tohaka region.
Examples
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I dare say that you do.
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I dare say that for all its power and resources, the United States is at a serious disadvantage.
Academic text (2003) -
And for many of you, I dare say that you will.
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Still, I dare say you could do with these.
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Well, I dare say it is.
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A lot of people disagree with you, and I dare say there is no right answer.
Blog text (9) -
I dare say, Russell, this is a highly significant development.
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I dare say it'll take some getting used to.
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You'll be frightfully lonely, I dare say.
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I dare say, the buzzing is frightfully loud.
Synonyms
Likely to happen or be true but not certain
Shows that something is almost certainly true, often before saying something different
To say that something is likely but not certain
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The expression combines 'dare' (to venture) and 'say' (to state), so its literal logic — 'I venture to say' — maps onto the polite, tentative meaning 'I think/probably'. However, this is a conventionalized hedge whose nuance and formulaic use may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner who only knows basic senses of the constituents, so partial prior exposure is helpful.
Etymology
I dare say comes from the old use of dare meaning 'to risk' saying an opinion. Picture someone politely offering a guess, taking a small risk by speaking, and you can see why it now means 'probably' or 'I think this is likely'.