promising
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of promising
Explanation
Promising things are encouraging or hopeful — they give you every sign that they'll be successful in the future. A promising early spring hints that the rest of the season will be warm and full of flowers. A promising ballet dancer is young, but off to a very talented start. If you pick up a novel in a bookstore and the first few pages look promising, you'll probably buy it. Promising things are full of promise, "an indication that something will occur." The Latin root is promittere, "put forth," from pro-, "forward," and mittere, "send."
Vocabulary lists containing promising
Shine On, Luz Véliz!
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Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?
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Honestly Elliott
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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.
With winning candidates promising moratoriums in key states, data-center builders are weighing their options, from going overseas to building in the desert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
"It's looking promising, but the only way you can find out is if you listen in," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Membranes have emerged as a promising alternative because they can separate substances without requiring the extreme temperatures used in conventional distillation.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Wednesday that 70,000 police officers and security forces would be deployed across the country, promising "an extremely firm response" to any "acts of violence" or disorder.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
And that’s how the summit ended, with the Soviet leader promising to take action in Berlin by December.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
