- 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.
Specifically, cues setting expectations of a disappointing or untrustworthy result will reduce motivation.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
One of the investment bank’s analysts tells clients in a note that the 1Q update contained many moving parts, but that the underlying picture is one of disappointing revenue and weaker margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
But Arbeloa's tenure in English football has so far been disappointing, although his side have reached the last 16 of the Carabao Cup, with their home tie against Crystal Palace taking place this month.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
A disappointing summer last year prompted the resignation of the company’s chief executive, Richard Zimmerman, who had served in the same role at Cedar Fair prior to the merger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Despite this disappointing and worrisome news, Antonio also brought back something good—a pirarara, a type of catfish.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
