dismay
Americanverb (used with object)
-
dismays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dismayed,
past participle, past
-
dismaying
present participle
-
to break down the courage of completely, as by sudden danger or trouble; dishearten thoroughly; daunt.
The surprise attack dismayed the enemy.
- Synonyms:
- intimidate, scare, frighten, terrify, appall
- Antonyms:
- hearten
-
to surprise in such a manner as to disillusion.
She was dismayed to learn of their disloyalty.
-
to alarm; perturb.
The new law dismayed some of the more conservative politicians.
noun
-
sudden or complete loss of courage; utter disheartenment.
- Synonyms:
- fear, horror, panic, terror, consternation, disconcert
- Antonyms:
- confidence
-
sudden disillusionment.
-
agitation of mind; perturbation; alarm.
verb
-
to fill with apprehension or alarm
-
to fill with depression or discouragement
noun
Synonym Usage
See discourage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dismaysimple
-
dismayssimple
-
have dismayedperfect
-
has dismayedperfect
-
am dismayingprogressive
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are dismayingprogressive
-
is dismayingprogressive
-
have been dismayingperfect progressive
-
has been dismayingperfect progressive
Past
-
dismayedsimple
-
had dismayedperfect
-
was dismayingprogressive
-
were dismayingprogressive
-
had been dismayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dismay
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English desmay (noun), de(s)mayen, dismayen (verb), from presumed Anglo-French alteration, by prefix change, of Old French esmaier “to trouble, frighten,” from unattested Vulgar Latin exmagāre “to disable, deprive of strength,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + unattested magāre, from unattested Germanic magan “to be able to”; see may 1
Explanation
If you discover late Sunday night that the dog really did eat your homework, you might cry out in dismay. Dismay describes an emotional state of alarm, fear, or serious disappointment. The first part of dismay comes from the Latin prefix dis-, which comes in handy when you want to put a negative spin on words (dishonest, discount, disenchant, etc.). The last bit of dismay most likely comes from the Germanic word magan, meaning "to be able to." You can employ the word dismay to describe how you feel in a variety of negative situations that you doubt you are able to handle.
Vocabulary lists containing dismay
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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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.
See Examples For:
To their presumable dismay, there are no scenes of the singer quitting the tour to go house-hunting, external; throwing snooker balls at Blur, external; or starting a fight on a cross-channel ferry.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
The United Nations said Wednesday the 1.5C target would be missed and outlined how global temperatures might be brought back down in a first-of-its-kind assessment met with dismay in climate-vulnernable nations.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
As recently as this year, Moreno had indicated he wasn’t looking to sell, much to the dismay of frustrated Angels fans desperate for an end to his tenure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Goldfeder asked — a reference to a Feb. 27 message by Bonta, who at the time was responding to Ruffalo’s dismay after Paramount won the bidding war for Warner Bros., which also owns CNN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
She thought with dismay of the Richardsons, of the vast and gleaming Richardson house, of Pearl’s face when her mother dared set foot on this precious soil.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Yet the world's inability to fund more Mosquirix shots dismays many in Africa.
From Reuters ● Jul. 13, 2022
“I think, though, that it’s all right for you to say that this concerns you, that it dismays you, and you are always concerned with aggression,” Johnson told Nixon, referring to him as “Dick.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2022
The Chattahoochee River and its tributaries flow through metropolitan Atlanta, but they hardly register for most people in the city — a disconnect that dismays Jonathan Keats.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 3, 2022
The vanishing of the old nomadic ways dismays Li, but when she expressed this to a trader, he looked at her and asked, “Have we Kazakhs not suffered enough for you yet?”
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2021
From the little he knows about Russian writers, it dismays him that his parents chose the weirdest namesake.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“I don’t talk and think Slavery all the time,” Shaw told his dismayed parents as the secession crisis worsened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Among other things, James was dismayed that the Writers Guild of America — which had separately sued to block the deal — hadn’t been brought into the negotiations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Toronto-area lip balm producer Warren Levine said he has been dismayed by the trade battle given the traditionally close ties between the U.S. and Canada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The father of a teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful content online has said he is "dismayed" by reports the government is to ban young people from using some social media platforms.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
"What do you mean?" said the middle lodger, somewhat dismayed and with a sugary smile.
From "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka
Since Shakespeare’s verse for the young lovers is among his most rhapsodic and hypnotically beautiful, the choice is dismaying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The co-owner of the Swiss bar hit by a deadly fire during New Year celebrations was released from custody on Friday after bail was paid on his behalf, dismaying victims' families.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Within that sphere we’re treated to a voice performance by Woods that is a small, hilarious, somewhat dismaying tour de force.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
It is dismaying that when a cougar kills livestock that the solution is to kill the cougar.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
The discovery that we are, as one investigator phrased it, living in a “sea of carcinogens” is of course dismaying and may easily lead to reactions of despair and defeatism.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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