daredevil

English

Etymology

From dare +‎ devil.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛədɛvəl/, [ˈdɛədɛvəɫ]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dare‧dev‧il

Noun

daredevil (plural daredevils)

1. A person who engages in very risky behavior, especially one who is motivated by a craving for excitement or attention. [from 1794]

   Synonyms: adrenaline junkie, adventurer, thrill-seeker

   Even as a youngster, Steven was a bit of a daredevil riding up homemade wooden ramps on his BMX.

Derived terms

• daredevilish
• daredevilism
• daredevilry

Translations

person who engages in risky behavior

Belarusian: сарвігалава́ m or f (sarvihalavá), смяльча́к m (smjalʹčák), ліха́ч m (lixáč), зух m (zux) Bikol Central: kaskasero (bcl), paspasero (bcl) Bulgarian: луда глава (luda glava), смелчага (bg) (smelčaga), гидия (bg) m (gidija) Chinese: Mandarin: 膽大妄為的人 / 胆大妄为的人 (zh) (dǎndàwàngwéi de rén), 鋌而走險的人 / 铤而走险的人 (zh) (dìng'érzǒuxiǎn de rén) Dutch: waaghals (nl) m Esperanto: riskemulo Finnish: huimapää, hurjapää (fi), uskalikko (fi) French: casse-cou (fr) m or f Georgian: თავზეხელაღებული (tavzexelaɣebuli) German: Wagehals (de) m, Waghals (de) m, Draufgänger (de) m, Draufgängerin (de) f Greek: ριψοκίνδυνος (el) m (ripsokíndynos) Hungarian: fenegyerek (hu) Italian: spericolato (it) m, temerario (it) m, scapestrato (it) m Japanese: 命知らず (ja) (いのちしらず, inochishirazu), 荒武者 (あらむしゃ, aramusha), 我武者羅 (ja) (がむしゃら, gamushara) Kyrgyz: тартынбас m or f (tartınbas) Macedonian: буен младеж m (buen mladež) Malayalam: സാഹസികൻ (ml) (sāhasikaṉ) Norwegian: våghals (no) m Polish: szaleniec (pl) m Russian: сорвиголова́ (ru) m or f (sorvigolová), смельча́к (ru) m (smelʹčák), лиха́ч (ru) m (lixáč), удале́ц (ru) m (udaléc) Spanish: arriesgado (es) m, temerario (es) m Swedish: våghals (sv) c Turkish: gözü pek (tr) Ukrainian: шиба́йголова m or f (šybájholova), зірви́голова m or f (zirvýholova), смільча́к m (smilʹčák), сміли́вець m (smilývecʹ), молоде́ць (uk) m (molodécʹ), пали́вода (uk) m or f (palývoda), проби́йголова m or f (probýjholova)

Adjective

daredevil (comparative more daredevil, superlative most daredevil)

1. Recklessly bold; adventurous. [from 1832]

   The climactic scene of “Rebel without a Cause” is the group of very daredevil teens playing chicken.

   • 2012, Chibundu Onuzo, The Spider King’s Daughter, Faber and Faber (2013), page 27:

     Not only do they glide gracefully with burdens on their heads, they bend to pick money that has been flung at them; dash across roads with cars zooming by and the most daredevil do all this with a child strapped to their back.

Translations

recklessly bold; adventurous

Belarusian: зухаваты (zuxavaty) Bulgarian: безразсъден (bg) (bezrazsǎden), гидия (bg) (gidija) Catalan: temerari (ca) Esperanto: riskema French: casse-cou (fr) m Georgian: თავზეხელაღებული (tavzexelaɣebuli) German: tollkühn (de) Greek: παράτολμος (el) m (parátolmos) Italian: scavezzacollo (it) Serbo-Croatian: nebojša Spanish: temerario (es), arriesgado (es)

Verb

daredevil (third-person singular simple present daredevils, present participle daredevilling or (US) daredeviling, simple past and past participle daredevilled or (US) daredeviled)

1. (intransitive) To behave in a reckless, adventurous, or physically risky manner.