daring

1. 1
   adjective

   Adventurous and willing to take on or look for risks, even to the point of being overbold.

   His daring plan to cross the desert alone worried everyone who knew him.

   Only the most daring investors put money into the untested venture.

   Similarbold, audacious, adventurous, venturesome

   Oppositecautious, timid, careful

   Note

   Here the praise carries a warning. Risk-taking can tip into overboldness, and the word attaches as readily to deeds as to people. Baroness Orczy's The Case of Miss Elliott calls a murder "this daring outrage," acknowledging the nerve while condemning the act. Audacious and venturesome sit close by. The brave meaning is the one with no hint of recklessness.

2. 2
   adjective

   Showing courage and bravery in the face of danger or difficulty.

   The soldiers made a daring stand against overwhelming odds.

   Her daring defense of the unpopular cause earned wide respect.

   Similarbrave, courageous, fearless, bold, gutsy

   Oppositecowardly, timid, fearful

   Note

   The admiring sense, and an old one. In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, a speaker boasts he could "outbrave the heart most daring on earth," placing the adjective after its noun as verse allows. In modern prose it usually comes before nouns of action, as in a daring rescue or a daring stand. There it praises nerve rather than questioning it.

3. 3
   adjective

   Racy and sexually provocative, pushing boldly against accepted social limits.

   The magazine ran a daring photo shoot that sparked complaints.

   His daring nightclub act shocked the more conservative members of the crowd.

   Similarracy, provocative, saucy

   Oppositetame, modest, prim

   Note

   A gentler word than racy, used for clothes and performances that reveal more than usual. In Randy Rawls's Best Defense (2013), the narrator dreads the sight of a mother in a daring bikini. The word hints at boldness rather than accusing, so context decides whether a daring outfit reads as stylish or scandalous.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   Boldness; the willingness to take risks or act with great courage.

   The expedition succeeded through sheer daring and careful planning.

   His daring in battle became the stuff of legend.

   Similarboldness, bravery, courage, nerve, guts

   Oppositetimidity, cowardice, caution

   Note

   Mostly a mass noun, so it takes sheer or great rather than a or many: sheer daring, a feat of great daring. The plural darings exists but is uncommon and refers to individual acts of boldness. Audacity leans toward cheek, and fearlessness toward the absence of fear. Daring keeps the sense of a risk deliberately chosen.

5. 5
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of dare.

   The children are daring each other to knock on the haunted door.

   Daring fate, he set out alone across the frozen lake.

   Note

   The -ing form serves both of the verb's main uses, and the construction tells them apart. Followed by to and a verb, it means finding the courage: daring to speak. With an object first, it means challenging someone: daring a friend to jump. The same spelling also serves as the adjective for risk-takers and the noun for boldness. As a gerund it keeps its verb's object (daring fate), while the noun takes none.

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