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Boldness; fearlessness; adventurousness; also, a daring act.

The quality of being dastardly; cowardice; base fear.

To repress or subdue the courage of; to check by fear of danger; to cow; to intimidate; to dishearten. Some presences daunt and discourage us. Glanvill.

Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid. Dauntless he rose, and to the fight returned. Dryden. -- Daunt"less*ly, adv. -- Daunt"less*ness, n.

To stupefy with excess of light; with a blow, with cold, or with fear; to confuse; to benumb. While flashing beams do daze his feeble eyen. Spenser. Such souls, Whose sudden visitations daze the world. Sir H. Taylor. He comes out of the room in a dazed state, that is an odd though a sufficient substitute for interest.…

That which defends; a safeguard. Wars preventive, upon just fears, are true defensive. Bacon. To be on the defensive, To stand on the defensive, to be or stand in a state or posture of defense or resistance, in opposition to aggression or attack.

To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [Obs.] I fear my Julia would not deign my lines. Shak.

to liberate, as from control; to give up; to free; to save; to rescue from evil actual or feared; -- often with from or out of; as, to deliver one from captivity, or from fear of death. He that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. Ezek. xxxiii. 5. Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver. Milton.…

unnatural that those who have an object depending, which strongly engages their hopes and fears, should be somewhat inclined to superstition. Burke.

as, a crocodile deposits her eggs in the sand; the waters deposited a rich alluvium. The fear is deposited in conscience. Jer. Taylor.

s; to diffuse; to communicate; to transmit; -- followed by to, into, on, upon. [Obs.] For fear it [water] choke up the pits . . . they [the workman] derive it by other drains. Holland. Her due loves derived to that vile witch's share. Spenser. Derived to us by tradition from Adam to Noah. Jer. Taylor.…

escent upon the enemy. The United Provinces . . . ordered public prayer to God, when they feared that the French and English fleets would make a descent upon their coasts. Jortin.

To prevent by fear; hence, to hinder or prevent from action by fear of consequences, or difficulty, risk, etc. Addison. Potent enemies tempt and deter us from our duty. Tillotson. My own face deters me from my glass. Prior.

runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. "Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer." Macaulay. -- Tasmanian devil (Zoöl.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania (Dasyurus, or Diabolus, ursinus). -- To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin.…

ious exercises; given to devotion; pious; reverent; religious. A devout man, and one that feared God. Acts x. 2. We must be constant and devout in the worship of God. Rogers.

t of disavowing, disclaiming, or disowning; rejection and denial. An earnest disavowal of fear often proceeds from fear. Richardson.

To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exculpate. I almost fear you think I begged it, but I can disculpate myself. Walpole.

hensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive or firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Josh. i. 9. What words be these What fears do you dismay Fairfax.

res, doubts, illusions. [Satan] gently raised their fainting courage, and dispelled their fears. Milton. I saw myself the lambent easy light Gild the brown horror, and dispel the night. Dryden.

Want of peace or tranquility; uneasiness; disturbance; agitation; anxiety. Fears and disquietude, and unavoidable anxieties of mind. Abp. Sharp.