disappointing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Unfortunately for the South African team that night, Rafa Márquez equalized for El Tri with 11 minutes remaining during what turned out to be a disappointing World Cup for the host nation.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
“It’s very disappointing and inappropriate that this video was not produced in discovery,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
This week will bring another gut check for data center and chip demand, but a disappointing outlook on that front appears unlikely.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
The athleisure company has coped with negative commentary and disappointing product launches.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Usually there aren’t any, and that’s kind of disappointing.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
