In a way that is intimidating, discouraging, or makes something seem difficult and challenging to face.
From 'daunt' plus the present participle suffix '-ing' (forming 'daunting') plus the adverb suffix '-ly' (in the manner of), creating an adverbial form.
Mountains in photographs become 'dauntingly' tall, but that same mountain might be easy climbing—the word captures not the actual difficulty but the psychological weight we feel when facing it.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.