Meaning of daresay | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Chiefly in the form I daresay: to say something boldly; to affirm or assert.
   archaic, intransitive
2. Chiefly in the form I daresay: to venture to say (as the speaker believes something is likely to be the case); to think something probable; to presume.
   broadly, intransitive

Examples

“[H]e daresays he has had conversations with Goodfellow after the sale of the property, and Goodfellow seemed satisfied that the declarant was to get payment of his money.”

“Are you going to stay up all night? I daresay that I am.”

“You daresay, Blanche. Ay, that is always the way; everybody daresay. Mrs. Grainger and John daresaid I should not miss Thomas, who is gone home for a week to get strong again after the ague, but I shall. Then they daresaid I should like his cousin Richard, who takes his place, just as well; but I shall not.”

“[S]he has more money than she can know what to do with; but she's as mean as she can well be. However, when she knows my position is desperate, she'll shell out handsomely, I daresay.”

“[H]e brings out a crumpled piece of paper, and displays it in approved Dr. Marigold style, "Here's what the arsenic or strychnine was in, but now it is mixed with the dishes, knives, forks, spoons, biscuits, beef, &c.; in fact, our pantry and store-room are worse than a score of Pritchard's." Grand chorus, reprobatory of Max, who takes it very coolly, and says he daresays Dick has just spilt it, "his fingers being all thumbs," but never to mind, as he won't use any of the things till he has cleaned out the chest.”

“Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things." / "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!"”

“I daresay he's got other things to think of. I'll set all that right to-morrow.”

“Daniel daresays he could get five thousand or more for the piece if he tried.”

“We did not take any notice of what he said, but just kept on saying how sorry we were; and he did not take our apology like a man, but only said he daresayed, just like a woman does.”

“The showman gave Simon ten shillings ("I daresay it's worth three times as much" muttered Justin) and he spent it on doughnuts for the whole party and a visit to the fire-breathing dragon (where Dido disgraced them by tiptoeing around to the back and discovering a little man in the dragon's stomach producing jets of steam by means of a boiling kettle).”

“"I daresay," Howard said, pacing, holding his bandaged hand in the palm of his good hand. "I daresay …" He wanted to say something about their early love. "I daresay," he began for the third time. / "Stop daresaying and start saying," Elenore said, impatient.”

“And I daresay you fancy he's fallen for you, too. But he's not like the farm hands in the village, Effie. You can't just twist him round your little finger.”

CEFR level