promise

American  

[prom-is] / ˈprɒm ɪs /

noun

promises plural

1. a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one.

   unkept political promises.

2. an express assurance on which expectation is to be based.

   promises that an enemy will not win.

   Synonyms:

   pledge, word

3. something that has the effect of an express assurance; indication of what may be expected.

4. indication of future excellence or achievement.

   a writer who shows promise.

5. something that is promised.

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verb (used with object)

promises, present (3rd person singular) promised, past participle, past promising present participle

1. to engage or undertake by promise (usually used with an infinitive or a clause as object).

   She promised to go tomorrow.

   Synonyms:

   agree, covenant, pledge

2. to make a promise of (some specified act, gift, etc.).

   to promise help.

3. to make a promise of something to (a specified person).

   Promise me that you will come.

4. to afford ground for expecting.

   The sky promised a storm.

5. to engage to join in marriage.

6. to assure (used in emphatic declarations).

   I won't go there again, I promise you that!

verb (used without object)

promises, present (3rd person singular) promised, past participle, past promising present participle

1. to afford ground for expectation (often followed by well orfair ).

   His forthcoming novel promises well.

2. to make a promise.

promise British  

/ ˈprɒmɪs /

verb

1. to give an assurance of (something to someone); undertake (to do something) in the future

   I promise that I will come

2. (tr) to undertake to give (something to someone)

   he promised me a car for my birthday

3. (when tr, takes an infinitive) to cause one to expect that in the future one is likely (to be or do something)

   she promises to be a fine soprano

4. (usually passive) to engage to be married; betroth

   I'm promised to Bill

5. (tr) to assure (someone) of the authenticity or inevitability of something (often in the parenthetic phrase I promise you, used to emphasize a statement)

   there'll be trouble, I promise you

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noun

1. an undertaking or assurance given by one person to another agreeing or guaranteeing to do or give something, or not to do or give something, in the future

2. indication of forthcoming excellence or goodness

   a writer showing considerable promise

3. the thing of which an assurance is given

promise Idioms  

1. see lick and a promise.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prepromise
  noun
• promiser
  noun
• repromise
  verb
• outpromise
  verb (used with object)
• overpromise
  verb (used with object)
• promisable
  adjective
• promiseful
  adjective
• quasi-promised
  adjective
• unpromised
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• promises
  plural

Participles

• promising
  present
• promised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• promise
  simple
• promises
  simple
• have promised
  perfect
• has promised
  perfect
• am promising
  progressive
• are promising
  progressive
• is promising
  progressive
• have been promising
  perfect progressive
• has been promising
  perfect progressive

Past

• promised
  simple
• had promised
  perfect
• was promising
  progressive
• were promising
  progressive
• had been promising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will promise
  simple
• will have promised
  perfect
• will be promising
  progressive
• will have been promising
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of promise

First recorded in 1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English promis(se), from Medieval Latin prōmissa, from Latin prōmissum, noun use of neuter past participle of prōmittere “to promise,” literally, “to send forth,” equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + mittere “to send”; (verb) late Middle English promisen, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A promise is an agreement to do or not do something. Also, when you have potential, you show promise. If your parents say you can go for ice cream and then it doesn't happen, you'll probably say, "But you promised!" People promise small things, like to visit someone, and big things, like marriage: “Til death do us part” is a promise many people make on their wedding day. Another meaning is to make a prediction, as in, "You'll regret this, I promise!” Also, if you show promise playing the violin, maybe someday you'll play in an orchestra.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

promise promises promised promising

But he knew enough to avoid committing himself to any policy promise before he was selected as Labour’s leader and the next prime minister by acclamation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Garnacho arrives at Aston Villa still with more promise than pedigree.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which announced in June that El Niño had arrived, predict this iteration will be “very strong,” bringing a greater promise of a wet winter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Wadephul's promise of continued security and humanitarian cooperation, however, comes as Germany's foreign aid budget has been cut repeatedly.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

I had to make her promise to stick to a budget, and after way too much back and forth, she agreed.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

For SpaceX, much of the company’s promises ride on the success of its Starship rocket, which is still under development.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

"Instead of a summer lull, the meeting promises one last clash between the hawks and doves before anyone reaches for the sunscreen," said Brzeski.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Reform UK Scotland leader Malcolm Offord wished Burnham well, but called for action instead of "empty promises".

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

By its terms, the Constitution is “ordained and established” by “the People,” who for most of this country’s history played a far more prominent role in the process of deciding what its promises mean.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

“Strange promises can come out of the desperate,” said the witch.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Musk has promised to transition both companies into dominant forces in an AI arms race in which they are behind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Voters ultimately passed Proposition 103, which promised insurance rate roll-backs and created the elected state insurance commissioner role.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Modi has not spoken publicly about the protests, but a cabinet minister said he had promised to take the "strongest possible steps" to protect the interest of the students.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to set out how he will "give people some breathing space, help with the cost of living," including cutting VAT on electricity bills from October.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

But I had also promised Mama seven times while we drove to school that I would be polite.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

Perhaps even more promising, the company is vaulting forward in cloud computing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Hilton then framed himself as a “pragmatic, problem-solving change-maker” focused on affordability, promising to lower gas prices, electricity costs and taxes and the cost of homes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Racing against a stopwatch, a group of women folds bedsheets as they train to join an Indian startup that offers instant home services, transforming a traditionally word-of-mouth sector and promising better pay.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Musk said the clip was a preview of what could be done with his in-house AI, promising a full movie by the end of the year.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Play something, Amy. Let them hear how much you have improved,” said Laurie, with pardonable pride in his promising pupil.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Related Words

• agreement
• assurance
• commitment
• guarantee
• obligation
• pact
• pledge
• vow
• word