- present participle of disappoint.
disappointing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disappointing
First recorded in 1520–30; disappoint + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's disappointing isn't what you'd hoped for. A disappointing baseball season usually means that your favorite team lost a lot of games. When the candidate you voted for loses, it's a disappointing election result, and a disappointing grade in your math class is lower than what you hoped or expected it would be. Disappointing comes from the verb disappoint, which means "frustrate expectations," but had an earlier definition of "remove from appointed office." The modern sense of disappoint and disappointing comes from "fail to keep an appointment."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cara Hunter said the "loss of guided educational visits is disappointing"
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
She says it doesn't tell the full story but admits "it is disappointing".
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
In the wake of a disappointing season, Jake LaRavia has changed the way he approaches games this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Meta overhauled its AI efforts in spring 2025 after the disappointing launch of its then-latest model, Llama 4.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Thinking of those notes in invisible milk ink might have made Penelope smile had she not felt so pained about disappointing Miss Mortimer.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
