dare

1. verb

1)

everyone wanted to say something, but nobody dared

Syn:

be brave enough, have the courage; venture, have the nerve, have the temerity, be so bold as, have the audacity; risk, hazard, take the liberty, stick one's neck out, go out on a limb

2)

she dared him to go

Syn:

challenge, defy, invite, bid, provoke, goad; throw down the gauntlet

2. noun

she accepted the dare

Syn:

challenge, provocation, goad; gauntlet, invitation

••

dare

It's been called "one of the subtlest and most variegated verbs in the language" (Robert W. Burchfield, Points of View; 1992) and also "one of the trickiest" (William Safire, "Love That Dare", New York Times; May 17, 1987). The subtleties arise because dare is both an ordinary verb (he dares you to pick up the snake) and a modal verb (he dare not do it himself). And the form it takes (dares vs. dare in those examples) changes with that grammatical function.

When dare is used as a full verb, it behaves just like most other verbs: it takes an -s with a third-person singular subject (Robert always speaks his mind bluntly and dares anyone to disagree). The form is identifiable by the presence of an explicit infinitive (with to) after dare (here, to disagree).

Dare was an Old English modal. When it is used as an auxiliary verb (like the modern modals will, must, and, more closely, ought), the infinitive either is missing its to (dare he disagree with Robert?) or is missing altogether but understood (he dare not!). This occurs chiefly, but not only, in interrogative or negative sentences. In those sentences, the form dares — although sometimes used mistakenly in striving for correctness — would be unidiomatic, because dare in this usage behaves like other uninflected modals (will he disagree with Robert? | he must not)

As a modal verb, dare raises an interesting question of tense: in reference to past time, should one write (1) "Although challenged to do it, he dare not", or (2) "Although challenged to do it, he dared not"? The Oxford English Dictionary endorses the first and calls the second "careless", but that advice was written when that part of the great dictionary was published in 1894 (and the dandy but now archaic durst was still available). More recent grammarians are more lenient — e.g.: "As a modal, dare exhibits abnormal time reference in that it can be used, without inflection, for past as well as present time: ‘The king was so hot-tempered that no one dare tell him the bad news.’ The main verb form dared (to) might also occur here." (Randolph Quirk et al., A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language; 1985.)

These more modern grammarians’ analyses are borne out by actual usage — e.g.: "Mayo said he dared not declare it a little blue heron without confirmation from others." (Hartford Courant; Dec. 23, 2001.)

It is odd, however, to see the past-tense form in the set phrase how dare you — e.g.: " ‘How dared you!’ Jon shouted, waving his arms for emphasis. ‘That dish was ours, the property of the entire Order! How dared you even think to appropriate it for your own uses!" (Patricia C. Wrede, Mairelon the Magician; 1991.)

The form durst, which is a past indicative and past subjunctive along with dared, is obsolete in American English. In British English, it still occurs rarely, always in a negative sentence or conditional clause in which there is an infinitive either understood or having no to (none durst answer him).

The exclamatory construction How dare he do that! is an idiomatic phrasing of the interrogative How (does/did he) dare (to) do that? The subject/actor (he) appears after the verb (dare) and is always in the nominative case — e.g.: "How dare she tell taxpayers to take on more responsibility to help neighborhood kids? How dare she be right?" (Cincinnati Enquirer; Aug. 18, 2002.) — BG