daresay

/ˌdɛəˈseɪ/

//ˌdɛəˈseɪ// verb

"daresay" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“daresay” is uncommon English (frequency #53,484 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,484
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chiefly in the form I daresay: to say something boldly; to affirm or assert.

Corpus desk

Index EN-daresay · daresay · English

daresay · rank #53,484 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,484
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH deceiver

Nearest frequency peer: deceiver (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “daresay”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “daresay” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for daresay
PropertyValue
Headworddaresay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌdɛəˈseɪ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#53,484
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “daresay” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).daresayfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “deceiver” (#53,485), “damme” (#53,482), “damask” (#53,481). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “daresay” is #53,484. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

daresay is uncommon English at frequency #53,484 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌdɛəˈseɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

daresay doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dare say: dare (“to have enough courage (to do something)”) + say. The correct English form is daresay, spelled D-A-R-E-S-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chiefly in the form I daresay: to say something boldly; to affirm or assert.
  2. 2
    Chiefly in the form I daresay: to venture to say (as the speaker believes something is likely to be the case); to think something probable; to presume.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how daresay appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [H]e daresays he has had conversations with Goodfellow after the sale of the property, and Goodfellow seemed satisfied that the declarant was to get payment of his money.
  2. Are you going to stay up all night? I daresay that I am.

Etymology

From dare say: dare (“to have enough courage (to do something)”) + say.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "daresay"?
"daresay" is spelled D-A-R-E-S-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɛəˈseɪ/.
What does "daresay" mean?
As a verb, "daresay" means: Chiefly in the form I daresay: to say something boldly; to affirm or assert.
How do you pronounce "daresay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "daresay" is /ˌdɛəˈseɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "daresay"?
From dare say: dare (“to have enough courage (to do something)”) + say. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "daresay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list