- present participle of promise.
promising
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of promising
Explanation
Promising things are encouraging or hopeful — they give you every sign that they'll be successful in the future. A promising early spring hints that the rest of the season will be warm and full of flowers. A promising ballet dancer is young, but off to a very talented start. If you pick up a novel in a bookstore and the first few pages look promising, you'll probably buy it. Promising things are full of promise, "an indication that something will occur." The Latin root is promittere, "put forth," from pro-, "forward," and mittere, "send."
Vocabulary lists containing promising
Shine On, Luz Véliz!
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Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?
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Honestly Elliott
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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.
It was sad that a young, promising coach had made a terrible mistake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
But the early success of these smaller, people-first models is promising.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
After meeting Greer on Thursday, LeBlanc told reporters "we're very close," promising to persist until a deal is done.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Steinberg, an executive member of NexusHealth at McMaster and chief scientific officer, shareholder and co-founder of Espervita Therapeutics, recently co-authored preclinical research describing a promising drug candidate for advanced liver disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
I kept a list of businesses that said yes, promising to get back to them soon with more details.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
