Dare

Question

Hi.What is meant by dare inI dare youwhich is often given by dictionaries?Thanks in advance

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

soheil1I dare you ...which is often given by dictionaries

Well, which sub-entry is that example sentence under?

CalifJim · Answer

soheil1dare

challenge

CJ

Soheil1 · Answer

the 3rd entry.
This dictionary seems to have solved my problem.

Fivejedjon · Answer

soheil1This dictionary seems to have solved my problem.

I have noticed that dictionaries are often quite useful for solving problems with the meanings of words.

Soheil1 · Answer

But strangely they mostly differ in their wording.

Fivejedjon · Answer

soheil1QuoteBut strangely they mostly differ in their wording.

Actually, I have found a great similarity if the definitions of most words given in most dictionaries. However, it should not be surprising that there should be some differences. There are no fixed definitions for words. Words mean what the people who use them intend them to mean. Lexicographers have the very difficult task of trying to explain the semantic content of words in a very limited number of words. The full Oxford English Dictionary is almost useless for everyday needs, because it attempts to be as comprehensive as possible. By the time one has read everything written about GET, for example, one has a pretty good idea of what it can mean. Most of us, however, don't have time for such luxuries if we simply want to know the meaning of the words I have italicised in "Am I getting through to you?"

The existence of sites such as www.onelook.com makes life much simpler for us these days. In less time than it takes to look up a word in a traditional dictionary, we can look in three or four dictionaries on that site and compare definitions. Even then, however, we must not expect to find every possible shade of meaning that can be conveyed by a word. You have sometimes complained that a meaning that one of us has suggested is not in the dictionary. Thank heavens! A dictionary that tried to explain infallibly every possible shade of meaning of every word would be infinitely long.

Dare

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions