disappointing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- disappointingly adverb
- undisappointing adjective
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.
Delivery robots are both disappointing in their reality and alarming in their symbolic implication.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
"It's obviously disappointing that we haven't yet seen a breakthrough in negotiations and an end to this war in Iran that is a sustainable one," Streeting told Sky News.
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
“January’s reading was disappointing with GDP flat on the month, but we look for a +0.3% rebound this month,” Investec economist Philip Shaw said in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
He looked set to figure in the Thyestes before a last fence unseat but has to be forgiven a very disappointing display last time in the Bobbyjo to merit an each way chance.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Each seats one person, which is the only disappointing thing about it, but otherwise it’s really damn cool.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
