daunted

3 6.1

Feeling worried or afraid to try something difficult

adjective
/ˈdɔntɪd/

: intimidado

OK, so how do you break the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and daunted by everything you have to do and start forgiving yourself?

All I can say is that I am not daunted.

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Examples

We shouldn't be daunted by the challenges we face.
She was feeling daunted by the challenging math problems on the test.
So much to be both daunted and excited by.

Blog text (26)
I think as humans we are daunted by the unknown, but we love possibility.

Chris Williamson
However, less confident users were just as daunted by the number of books they had to scan through to find something they wanted.

Academic text (2013)
The Talmud states do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.
Despite his initial enthusiasm, he soon became daunted by the complex project ahead.
Many students feel daunted when starting their first year of university.

Synonyms

intimidated

vsdaunted

100 3.7

Feeling afraid and not confident because someone seems scary

is about fear or lack of confidence caused by a difficult task or situation

discouraged

vsdaunted

67 3.4

Feeling less confident and hopeful because of problems

is more about feeling frightened or put off by a difficult challenge

demoralized

vsdaunted

15 5.2

Feeling sad and lacking confidence to keep trying

is usually a brief fear or loss of drive caused by a challenge

disheartened

vsdaunted

12 4.2

Feeling less hopeful and confident after a disappointment

is more about feeling frightened by a challenge rather than losing all hope

fazed

vsdaunted

4 6.5

Not showing surprise or worry when something unexpected happens

is more about fear or loss of confidence when facing a difficult challenge

Antonyms

confident

759 2.5

Feeling sure about yourself or what will happen

How Daunted

overstressed

3 5.1

intimidated

100 3.7

daunted

3 6.1

worried

∞ 1.0

uneasy

92 3.2

Surface Forms

daunted positive

Morphology

daunted = daunt (transparent) = daunt + ed

The adjective is a regular past-participle/adjectival form of the verb 'daunt', so its meaning follows directly from the base verb.

Etymology

The word daunted comes from an old word danter, from the Latin domare, meaning 'to tame' or 'to overpower', like the simple word tame. So being daunted is like being made small by something strong, which is why it means 'intimidated' or 'discouraged'.