durst
gb/dˈɚst/ us/dˈɚst/
C2
English
~ 8700
mer
VERB
C2
ARCHAIC
1
mer
B1
Usage pattern:
[someone] durst (not) [bare infinitive verb]
He durst not speak a word against his lord.
Nem mert egy szót sem szólni az ura ellen.
None of the soldiers durst cross the river by night.
A katonák közül éjjel egyik sem merte átkelni a folyón.
She durst question the priest, though all others remained silent.
In those days, no one durst oppose the king’s command.
They durst not enter the forest after sunset.
Learner examples
He durst not say anything to the king.
Nem mert semmit sem mondani a királynak.
The men durst not go into the dark cave.
A férfiak nem mertek bemenni a sötét barlangba.
In the story, the girl durst ask the old queen a hard question.
Long ago, people durst not question their leaders.
No one durst tell him that he was wrong.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think “durst” is a normal modern word and try to use it in everyday speech or writing. In contemporary English, you should almost always use “dared” instead. Another confusion is treating “durst” like a regular past form that can take “to” before a verb (*“durst to go”); in older English it behaves like a modal verb, so it is followed by a bare infinitive: “durst go,” “durst speak,” often in the negative “durst not.”
Meaning
archaic past of “dare”
Collocations
durst not
|durst speak
|durst approach
|durst ask
|durst do
Synonyms
dared (Normal modern past tense of “dare”; used in all everyday contexts where “durst” might appear in older texts.)
|
had the courage (Paraphrase that explains the meaning but is longer and more neutral in style.)
Antonyms
was afraid to (Expresses the opposite idea of lacking courage or being too scared to do something.)
Themes
literature
|history
|religion
|core_vocabulary
Definition
An old word meaning the past of “dare”; used like “dared” in older English.
Archaic past tense of “dare”: to have or lack the courage to do something.
Grammar
Dictionary form
durst
IPA
GB/dˈɚst/
US/dˈɚst/
Syllables & stress
durst (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (durst)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: durst
- 3rd Person Singular: dursts
- Present Participle: dursting
- Past: dursted
- Past Participle: dursted
Word family
Forms
dursts
verb
dursting
verb
dursted
verb
Core family
dare
verb B1
daring
adjective
Related words
daringly
adverb
daredevil
noun
Expressions
durst not
1/dˈɚst nˈɑt/
fixed phrase
archaic
did not dare (archaic)
An old way to say “did not dare”; used in older English to mean someone did not have the courage to do something.
Examples
- The villagers durst not enter the castle after dark.
- He durst not speak her name aloud in the king’s hall.
- They durst not move until the guards had passed.