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to I dare say

to I dare say

43 6.5
Said, often politely, to show you think something is likely to be true
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : suponer
  • 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.

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Examples

Synonyms

probably
vsto I dare say
1.0

Likely to happen or be true but not certain

is more politely tentative about likelihood
no doubt
vsto I dare say
515 1.8

Shows that something is almost certainly true, often before saying something different

is instead tentatively polite and suggests only a gentle belief
presumably
vsto I dare say
278 4.3

To say that something is likely but not certain

is more a polite personal opinion rather than a reasoned claim

Antonyms

487 1.9

People do not expect it to happen or be true

4 3.8

In a way that shows you are not sure and have little confidence

Surface Forms

I dare say infinitive

Morphology

I + dare + say

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'.