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Glite Dictionary
💪 To be brave 🎲 To challenge 🎲 A challenge
to dare

to dare

332 2.4
To challenge someone to do something risky or embarrassing
  • verb
  • /dɛr/
translation icon : retar a
  • "Holding her hostage with his hand, he dared her to challenge his statement."

Examples

  • What will happen to those unfortunate few who dare to read a book from the "wrong" side?

    Academic text (2004)

  • If you think you can beat me, I dare you to try.

  • I triple dare you to do it.

    Bagman (2024)

  • Only in the past few years had John Ireland dared to look him in the face.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • For another, I had dared to hope for a transfer to the United States.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I dare you, say cloud puffs one more time.

    Elemental (2023)

  • Ronald Weasley, how dare you steal that car?

  • When she was seven, a boy named Jimmy Meyers dared her to eat dog food.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Occasionally, dolphins would play beside the ship, jumping and daring my camera to catch them airborne.

    Academic text (2008)

  • But the Keeper stared back at them as if daring her guests to protest.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

to defy
vsto dare
178 3.7

Openly refuse to obey someone or seem to resist a force like time

challenges someone to act rather than refuse or resist authority
to throw down a challenge
vsto dare
  • Informal
1 5.4

Openly invite someone to compete with you

aims to provoke a personal response rather than invite competition
to double dog dare
vsto dare
  • Baby Talk
1 8.3

Challenge someone playfully so they feel they cannot refuse to do something

provokes someone to do something difficult, dangerous, or embarrassing

Idioms

to I dare say
  • UK
43 6.5

Said, often politely, to show you think something is likely to be true

I dare say
  • UK
3 7.7

Said when you doubt what someone says, often ironically

how very dare you
  • Informal
9.9

Show strong anger and disbelief at someone's words or actions

Phrasal Verbs

to double dog dare
  • Baby Talk
1 8.3

Challenge someone playfully so they feel they cannot refuse to do something

to take a dare
1 5.6

To accept and try something difficult or risky that someone challenges you to do

How Challenging

to dare
332 2.4
to provoke
144 3.6
to ask
∞ 1.0
to suggest
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

dare infinitive
dared past
dared past participle
daring present participle
dares third person singular

Etymology

Dare as a verb (as in 'I dare you') comes from the same old word for 'brave', and it works like a push to make someone try something bold — think of a daredevil who accepts challenges.