Adjective-noun collocation for intimidation

To acknowledge difficulty while perhaps implying eventual effort

Project planning, personal challenges

Professional, academic, everyday

daunting task

daunting task

daunting challenge, daunting prospect

• face
• seem
• appear
• undertake
• remain

• formidable task
• intimidating challenge

*daunting duty (not typical); using it for trivial tasks

herculean task, uphill battle

‘Daunting’ suggests discouraging difficulty; not just ‘big’.

• formidable challenge
• uphill struggle
• mammoth undertaking

Often used to praise someone’s effort after completion.

Empathetic, acknowledges hardship.

Learning a new language can be a daunting task.

The chunk 'daunting task' is a semi-fixed collocation used to describe a challenging and intimidating job or endeavor. It is commonly used in professional, academic, and everyday contexts to acknowledge the difficulty of a task while implying that it can be overcome with effort. The chunk is often used to express empathy and to praise someone's effort after completing a difficult task. Common mistakes include using 'daunting' with nouns that are not typically associated with it, such as 'duty,' and using it for trivial tasks. Similar chunks include 'herculean task' and 'uphill battle.'

difficult → overwhelming → a daunting task