disappoint
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disappoints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disappointed,
past participle, past
-
disappointing
present participle
-
to fail to fulfill the expectations or wishes of.
His gross ingratitude disappointed us.
- Synonyms:
- disenchant, dishearten, disillusion, sadden
-
to defeat the fulfillment of (hopes, plans, etc.); thwart; frustrate.
to be disappointed in love.
verb (used without object)
-
disappoints,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disappointed,
past participle, past
-
disappointing
present participle
verb
-
to fail to meet the expectations, hopes, desires, or standards of; let down
-
to prevent the fulfilment of (a plan, intention, etc); frustrate; thwart
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disappointsimple
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disappointssimple
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have disappointedperfect
-
has disappointedperfect
-
am disappointingprogressive
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are disappointingprogressive
-
is disappointingprogressive
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have been disappointingperfect progressive
-
has been disappointingperfect progressive
Past
-
disappointedsimple
-
had disappointedperfect
-
was disappointingprogressive
-
were disappointingprogressive
-
had been disappointingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disappoint
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Middle French word desappointer. See dis- 1, appoint
Explanation
When you fail to meet people's expectations, you disappoint them. You can also disappoint yourself or find that things let you down, like a rainy trip to the beach that disappoints you. The word disappoint comes from the Middle French word desappointer, which meant "dispossess of appointed office," in the 14th century. Today, disappoint can apply to anyone or anything that does not achieve the expected results — and ways to express that we are disappointed go beyond firing people or kicking them out of office. For example, if you buy a product that disappoints, you won't buy it again.
Vocabulary lists containing disappoint
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 4
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"The Fun They Had"
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Shiloh
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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.
See Examples For:
An investment does not require a collapse in demand to disappoint.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
"The build-up to this... has been phenomenal, and on the day it did not disappoint," he added later.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
JPM adds that the absence of a clear time frame for the targets to be delivered could disappoint investors and believes there could be significant downside to consensus estimates for 2027 and beyond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Warsh is "either going to completely disappoint the markets, or he runs the risk that he's going to start to anger Donald Trump", said David Wessel, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
She didn’t want to disappoint James or do something that made him realize he didn’t want to hang out with her anymore.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
"If AI demand disappoints, spending cuts could hit chipmakers, data-center builders and their financiers at once," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
If the release disappoints market expectations, that will weigh heavily on the company’s valuation, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
AES stock falls as $15-a-share offer disappoints shareholders.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
"I wouldn't want to be a baker who disappoints her, but I can see her being very encouraging at the same time."
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
But when it arrives, it too disappoints her.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Retail electric-vehicle sales also disappointed through September and October, typically strong periods for EV sales and cell production, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Investors were disappointed by a miss of market expectations for operating profit by the semiconductor division, according to Bloomberg News.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Investors were disappointed in management’s long-term growth targets, unveiled in September, however.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
"We are extremely disappointed that, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find a reasonable solution that would allow us to compete in both games with our strongest available squad," Burgh added.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Consider how disappointed you would feel if, after booking an expensive spa vacation, you found yourself on holiday with the Society of Professional Accountants instead.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Tech firms were again on the back foot Friday after another round of disappointing earnings from Wall Street titans fanned already deep concerns about the AI investment boom.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Many tech stock were weak after Google’s parent company reported disappointing third-quarter numbers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Haleon’s third quarter was disappointing, mainly due to the weaker cold and flu results, said Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
You don’t have to go far down a Reddit rabbit hole to find disappointing reports on Delta’s 767s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
I’m scared enough of Mom, and of disappointing her more, that I manage to stay awake in most of my classes for the rest of the week.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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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.
