daunt

/dɔːnt/

//dɔːnt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"daunt" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“daunt” is uncommon English (frequency #90,339 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,339
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To discourage, intimidate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-daunt · daunt · English

daunt · rank #90,339 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,339
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dashi

Nearest frequency peer: dashi (-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 “daunt”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for daunt
PropertyValue
Headworddaunt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɔːnt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#90,339
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “daunt” 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).dauntfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “dashi” (#90,338), “dawah” (#90,340), “darter” (#90,337). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “daunt” is #90,339. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

daunt is uncommon English at frequency #90,339 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɔːnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for daunt, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, donter (“to tame”), from Latin domitō (“tame”, verb), frequentative of Latin domō (“tame, conquer”, verb), from Proto-Italic *domaō, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to domesticate, tame”). Doublet of d… The correct English form is daunt, spelled D-A-U-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To discourage, intimidate.
  2. 2
    To overwhelm.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [The English] valiantly, and with the ſlaughter of many, put backe the enemy: which was ſo farre from daunting the Normans, that by it they were more whetted to re-enforce themſelues vpon them[…]
  2. Death I'll meet, my soul no terrors daunting, Take the life for which thy heart is panting, Spare not thou, though he spare, his life granting, Or let death end us both at a blow.

Etymology

From Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, donter (“to tame”), from Latin domitō (“tame”, verb), frequentative of Latin domō (“tame, conquer”, verb), from Proto-Italic *domaō, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to domesticate, tame”). Doublet of dompt.

This word in other languages

descorazonar(Español)décourager(Français)abschrecken(Deutsch)desencorajar(Português)

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 "daunt"?
"daunt" is spelled D-A-U-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /dɔːnt/.
What does "daunt" mean?
As a verb, "daunt" means: To discourage, intimidate.
How do you pronounce "daunt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "daunt" is /dɔːnt/. 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 "daunt"?
From Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, donter (“to tame”), from Latin domitō (“tame”, verb), frequentative of Latin domō (“tame, conquer”, verb), from Proto-Italic *domaō, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to domesticate, tame”). Do... 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 "daunt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dashi#90,338dawah#90,340Deano#90,342Dagan#90,334

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list