- 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.
McDonald’s and Wendy’s are redoubling their efforts and rethinking their promotional deals after experiencing disappointing results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"American consumers are showing signs of fatigue. July retail sales were disappointing on all levels," said Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
"It's extremely disappointing to hear that military policing continues to be affected by such serious challenges," she told the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The disappointing results of the war against Iran have made matters worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Not really. It’s kind of disappointing, but I’m late to the Great Mascot Debate,” Elle said.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
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.
