verb
tolmamō
Strong’sG5111
I dare, endure, am bold
stem tolm-16 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books11 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
To dare, to be bold, to have the courage to undertake or carry out something difficult or risky 1234. It is used both absolutely, simply meaning to be bold or dare, without stating what is dared 13, and with an infinitive naming the particular act one dares to do 13. Strong's notes that it describes boldness shown in actual conduct or action, as distinct from a related word for boldness that is more a matter of inward feeling 2.
The word can also carry the sense of to endure or submit to something hard or fearsome, bearing up under it rather than acting boldly oneself 13.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
τολμάω, -ῶ
[in LXX: Jb 15:12 (לָקַח), Es 1:18 7:5 (לֵב מָלֵא) Jth 14:13, II Mac 4:2, III Mac 3:21 R, IV Mac 8:18 *;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5111 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidtol-mah'-o
probably itself from the base of G5056 through the idea of extreme conduct); to venture (objectively or in act; while G2292 is rather subjective or in feeling); by implication, to be courageous
Fromfrom τόλμα (boldness;
King Jamesbe bold, boldly, dare, durst.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Ionic dialect τολμέω Refs 5th c.BC+; Doric dialect 2nd pers. singular τολμῇς Refs 3rd c.BC+: future τολμήσω Refs 5th c.BC+, Doric dialect -ᾱσῶRefs 3rd c.BC+: perfect τετόλμηκα Refs 4th c.BC+, Doric dialect -ᾱκαRefs 5th c.BC+:—middle, Refs 5th c.BC+:—undertake, take heart either to do or bear anything terrible or difficult:
1 mostly absolutely, dare, endure, submit (see. Τλάω), ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἐτόλμα Refs 8th c.BC+; σὺ δ᾽ (i.e. κραδίη) ἐτόλμας Refs 8th c.BC+; τολμῶντες ἄνδρεςRefs 6th c.BC+participle, τολμήσας.. παρέστη he took courage and.., NT+1st c.AD+
2 with accusative of things, endure, undergo, τ. χρὴ τὰ διδοῦσι θεοί Refs 6th c.BC+
II with infinitive, to have the courage, hardihood, effrontery, cruelty, or the grace, patience, to do a thing in spite of any natural feeling, dare, or bring oneself, to do, εἰ.. τολμήσεις Διὸς ἄντα.. ἔγχος ἀεῖραι Refs 8th c.BC+; τ. κατακεῖσθαι submit to keep one's bed, NT+5th c.BC+
II.2 sometimes with participle, ἐτόλμα.. βαλλόμενος he submitted to be struck, Refs 8th c.BC+
II.3 with accusative, πόλεμον τολμήσαντα undertaking, venturing on it, Refs 8th c.BC+; τ. πάντα, δεινά, ἔργον αἴσχιστον, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; see at {τόλμημα}:—hence in passive, ο ἐτολμήθη πατήρ such things as my father had dared (or done) against him, Refs 5th c.BC+; τοῦτο τετολμήσθω εἰπεῖν let us take courage to say this, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.4 so in active, τετολμηκυῖαι [λέξεις] daring expressions, Refs 5th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| tolmamōτολμῶ | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | dare | 1× |
| tolmatōτολμᾷ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | dare | 2× |
| tolmanōτολμῶμεν | happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural | dare | 1× |
| tolmateἐτόλμα | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | dared | 4× |
| tolmaleἐτόλμων | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | dared | 1× |
| tolmamiτολμήσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | dare | 1× |
| tolmataἐτόλμησέν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | dare | 2× |
| tolmateiōτολμᾷ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular | dares | 1× |
| tolmarōτολμᾶν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | dare | 1× |
| tolmaraτολμῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | daring | 1× |
| tolmarantosτολμήσας | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | boldly | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 12 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | tolmamō1×τολμῶ | tolmame | tolmami1×τολμήσω | tolmama | tolmamē | tolmamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | tolmasō | tolmase | tolmasi | tolmasa | tolmasē | tolmaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | tolmatō2×τολμᾷ | tolmate4×ἐτόλμα | tolmati | tolmata2×ἐτόλμησέν | tolmatē | tolmatelē |
| we 1st person plural | tolmanō1×τολμῶμεν | tolmane | tolmani | tolmana | tolmanē | tolmanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | tolmavō | tolmave | tolmavi | tolmava | tolmavē | tolmavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | tolmalō | tolmale1×ἐτόλμων | tolmali | tolmala | tolmalē | tolmalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | tolmameiō | tolmameia | tolmameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | tolmaseiō | tolmaseia | tolmaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | tolmateiō1×τολμᾷ | tolmateia | tolmateiē |
| we 1st person plural | tolmaneiō | tolmaneia | tolmaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | tolmaveiō | tolmaveia | tolmaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | tolmaleiō | tolmaleia | tolmaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | tolmasōr | tolmasar | tolmasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | tolmatōr | tolmatar | tolmatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | tolmavōr | tolmavar | tolmavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | tolmalōr | tolmalar | tolmalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | tolmamoiō | tolmamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | tolmasoiō | tolmasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | tolmatoiō | tolmatoia |
| we 1st person plural | tolmanoiō | tolmanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | tolmavoiō | tolmavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | tolmaloiō | tolmaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | tolmarō1×τολμᾶν | tolmari | tolmara1×τολμῆσαι | tolmarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | tolmarōntos | tolmarintos | tolmarantos1×τολμήσας | tolmarēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
tolm is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
16 occurrences, every one of them listed
tolmamō“dare”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular1×
2 Corinthians 11:21“dare”… an tinos tolmateiō, en afrosuna legamō, tolmamō kamis.… for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast …
tolmatō“dare”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Romans 5:7… gar tou agathou tacha tinos kai tolmatō apothnēskara;… a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
1 Corinthians 6:1Tolmatō tinos vu pragmem echarōntos pros ton …… has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the …
tolmanō“dare”happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural1×
2 Corinthians 10:12Ouk gar tolmanō enkrinara ē sunkrinara heautoin tinoi toiu …We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with …
tolmate“dared”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular4×
Mark 12:34… basileiau tou theou. kai oudenos ouketi tolmate auton eperōtara.… kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.
John 21:12… tos Iēsus; Deute aristavar. oudenos de tolmate toiu mathētoiu exetazara auton; Sis tinos …… to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You …
Acts 5:13toiu de loipoiu oudenos tolmate kollorō autoi, alla megalunate autoin tos …… regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them.
Acts 7:32… Iakōb. entromos de generantos Mōusos ouk tolmate katanoara.… trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
tolmale“dared”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Luke 20:40“dared”ouketi gar tolmale eperōtarō auton oudenem.… to question Him any further.
tolmami“dare”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
Romans 15:18“dare”ouk gar tolmami tinem lalarō heiu ouk katergazeta Christos …I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me …
tolmata“dare”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Matthew 22:46“dare”… oudenos dunote apokrinira auto logon, oude tolmata tinos apo ekeinau tau hēmerau eperōtara …No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no …
Jude 1:9“dare”… dialegote peri teu Mōusou sōmeu, ouk tolmata krisian epiferara blasfēmiau, alla legata; Epitimatoia …… devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
tolmateiō“dares”happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
2 Corinthians 11:21… asthenanē; en he de an tinos tolmateiō, en afrosuna legamō, tolmamō kamis.… I can match what anyone else dares to boast about.
tolmarō“dare”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive1×
Philippians 1:14… kurio peitharēntoin toi desmoi mu perissoterōs tolmarō afobōs ton logon lalarō.… the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word …
tolmara“daring”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
2 Corinthians 10:2“daring”… pareiarōntos tharrara ta pepoithēsia ha logizomō tolmara epi tinoin toin logizorōntoin nin hōs …… be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh.
tolmarantos“boldly”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Mark 15:43… ate prosdechorōntos tan basileian tou theou, tolmarantos eiserchata pros ton Pilaton kai aiteta …… waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for …