Synonyms for daunting
- adjective
Most common
scary frightening unnerving disconcerting intimidating formidable
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Scary — discouraging; inspiring fear
scary, frightening, unnerving, disconcerting, unsettling, fearful, frightful, alarming, dismaying, dreadful, gruesome
2. Intimidating — appearing to be difficult; challenging
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Discouraging; inspiring fear.
- adj. 2
Appearing to be difficult; challenging.
It was a daunting task, but it was accomplished with some forward planning.
Related words
- Word family
- daunt daunter dauntless dauntlessly
Example sentences
- scary Was it scary for you to live in the United States?
- frightening I was terrified of receiving a frightening answer.
- disconcerting These are very disconcerting questions to ponder.
- unnerving The company is running so well, it's unnerving.
- formidable Algeria has a formidable special operations force.
- intimidating Tom finds Mary's mother to be quite intimidating.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| daunting | rising | |
| scary | rising | |
| frightening | rising | |
| disconcerting | rising | |
| unnerving | rising | |
| formidable | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- scary2
- 7 letters
- fearful2
- 8 letters
- dreadful2, alarming3, gruesome2
- 9 letters
- unnerving3, frightful2, dismaying3
- 10 letters
- formidable4, unsettling4
- 11 letters
- frightening3
- 12 letters
- intimidating5, discouraging4
- 13 letters
- disconcerting4, disheartening4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (scary2 = 2 syllables).