chagrin
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to vex by disappointment or humiliation.
The rejection of his proposal chagrined him deeply.
-
Obsolete. shagreen.
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See shame.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have chagrinnedperfect
-
has chagrinnedperfect 3rd person singular
-
has chagrinedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have chagrinedperfect
-
is chagriningprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have been chagriningperfect progressive
-
has been chagrinningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
have been chagrinningperfect progressive
-
are chagriningprogressive
-
chagriningparticiple
-
is chagrinningprogressive 3rd person singular
-
has been chagriningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
are chagrinningprogressive
-
am chagriningprogressive 1st person singular
-
am chagrinningprogressive 1st person singular
-
chagrinningparticiple
-
chagrinssingular 3rd person
Past
-
had chagrinnedperfect
-
had chagrinedperfect
-
was chagriningprogressive singular
-
had been chagriningperfect progressive
-
were chagriningprogressive plural
-
chagrinedsimple
-
chagrinedparticiple
-
were chagrinningprogressive plural
-
had been chagrinningperfect progressive
-
was chagrinningprogressive singular
-
chagrinnedsimple
-
chagrinnedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of chagrin
First recorded in 1650–60; from French; origin unknown
Explanation
Chagrin is a noun that represents an emotion or feeling and it's an uncomfortable one. If you feel chagrin, it means that you are embarrassed or distressed as a result of a failure. The word chagrin, a noun, comes from the French word of the same spelling and means "melancholy, anxiety, vexation." An odd fact about the word in English is that it had been thought to be related to another, similar-sounding word, shagreen, "rough, untanned leather." When one mistakes one word as a relative of another, it's called "false etymology."
Vocabulary lists containing chagrin
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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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.
When I finally did, age 30, I realized to my chagrin that in following his footsteps, I hadn’t scratched the surface of his intellectual journey.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
To my chagrin but not my surprise, no one else in the theater came with their tail tucked between their legs, covered by a trench coat.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
Not even Dickensian “A Christmas Carol” visitations by the specters of his father and an Indonesian business partner negotiating a project involving a sandstone reservoir with “significant extraction costs” diminish his concomitant guilt and chagrin.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
The government has also been forced to cut certain subsidies to yeshivas, much to the chagrin of the ultra-Orthodox parties.
From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025
He bows and then shows me each frock one by one, much to Elisabeth's chagrin.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
