- present participle of disappoint.
disappointing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word 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.
In the wake of a disappointing season, Jake LaRavia has changed the way he approaches games this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
This has been a largely disappointing season for Boulter, who is ranked 54th in the world and has posted just two wins across the four Grand Slam tournaments.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
And he must keep the gap between glittering promise and inevitably disappointing results to a minimum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Nations are steeling for a disappointing report card at this month's UN biodiversity summit, with governments falling short on their commitments to protect the plants, animals and ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
I could imagine what a disappointing wish that would be for a six-year-old, but I had to plant crops.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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