Afraid vs Dare - What's the difference?
afraid | dare |
Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.
(colloquial) regretful, sorry
To have enough courage (to do something).
* Shakespeare
* Macaulay
To defy or challenge (someone to do something)
To have enough courage to meet or do something, go somewhere, etc.; to face up to
* The Century
To terrify; to daunt.
* Beaumont and Fletcher
To catch (larks) by producing terror through the use of mirrors, scarlet cloth, a hawk, etc., so that they lie still till a net is thrown over them.
A challenge to prove courage.
The quality of daring; venturesomeness; boldness.
* Shakespeare
defiance; challenge
* Chapman
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To stare stupidly or vacantly; to gaze as though amazed or terrified.
(obsolete) To lie or crouch down in fear.
*, Bk.XX, ch.xix:
*:‘Sir, here bene knyghtes com of kyngis blod that woll nat longe droupe and dare within thys wallys.’
A small fish, the dace.
* 1766 , Richard Brookes, The art of angling, rock and sea-fishing
As an adjective afraid
is impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.As a verb dare is
to have enough courage (to do something).As a noun dare is
a challenge to prove courage.As a proper noun DARE is
abbreviation of w:Dictionary of American Regional English|Dictionary of American Regional English|lang=en.afraid
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- He is afraid of death.
- He is afraid to die.
- He is afraid that he will die.
- I am afraid I can not help you in this matter .
Usage notes
* (term) expresses a lesser degree of fear than (terrified) or (frightened). It is often followed by the preposition (term) and the object of fear, or by an infinitive, or by a dependent clause, as shown in the examples above.Synonyms
* (Impressed with fear or apprehension) afeared, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, fearful, timid, timorous * (Regretful) sorry * See alsoDerived terms
* 'fraid * afraidness * I'm afraid not * I'm afraid so * unafraidSee also
* fearStatistics
* 1000 English basic words ----dare
English
(wikipedia dare)Etymology 1
From (etyl) durran, from (etyl) .Verb
- I wouldn't dare argue with my boss.
- The fellow dares not deceive me.
- Why then did not the ministers use their new law? Because they durst not, because they could not.
- I dare you to kiss that girl.
- Will you dare death to reach your goal?
- To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes.
- For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs, / Would dare a woman.
- (Nares)
Usage notes
* Dare is a semimodal verb. The speaker can choose whether to use the auxiliary "to" when forming negative and interrogative sentences. For example, "I don't dare (to) go" and "I dare not go" are both correct. Similarly "Dare you go?" and "Do you dare (to) go?" are both correct. * In negative and interrogative sentences where "do" is not used, the third-person singular form of the verb is usually "dare" and not "dares": "Dare he go? He dare not go." * Colloquially, "dare not" can be contracted to "daren't". * The expression dare say'', used almost exclusively in the first-person singular and in the present tense, means "think probable". It is also spelt ''daresay . * Historically, the simple past of dare was durst. In the 1830s, it was overtaken by dared, which has been markedly more common ever since.Derived terms
* daredevil * daren't * daresay * daresn'tNoun
(en noun)- It lends a lustre / A large dare to our great enterprise.
- Childish, unworthy dares / Are not enought to part our powers.
- Sextus Pompeius / Hath given the dare to Caesar.
Etymology 2
(etyl) darian.Verb
(dar)Etymology 3
Noun
(en noun)- The Dare is not unlike a Chub, but proportionably less; his Body is more white and flatter, and his Tail more forked.
