Undismayed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not discouraged or intimidated by difficulty, danger, or setbacks; remaining confident and resolute despite challenges
2. Not discouraged or disheartened despite facing obstacles or threats
3. maintaining steadfast confidence and courage

Etymology: "Undismayed" is a plain compound: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "dismayed", the past participle of "dismay." The prefix has deep roots in the language, tracing back through Proto-Germanic to an ancient negative element that English inherited and has used for well over a thousand years. Its ancestry is shared with the Latin-derived "in-" family only at a very distant remove, so the two are not related by borrowing. "Dismay" itself comes from Middle English "dismayen," meaning to lose courage or be daunted, and the word carries the idea of a sudden loss of nerve. To be "undismayed" is therefore to keep one's nerve when things look bad, which is exactly the sense the adjective still carries. The combination is transparent: take away the loss of courage, and what remains is steadiness in the face of threat.

Synonyms: unfazed, unperturbed

Antonyms: dismayed, disturbed