- 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.
Appeared in the July 2, 2026, print edition as 'Britain’s Disappointing Defense Plan'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
Disappointing C3.ai earnings are the latest proof that the artificial-intelligence boom doesn’t mean good times for every company linked to it.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
Disappointing seasons for a pair of future Hall of Fame coaches.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026
Disappointing from Leah Williamson and a player of her calibre.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024
Disappointing 'cause what was the point of joining the Spooks if losers like Moran're being recruited too?
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
