promising

American  

[prom-uh-sing] / ˈprɒm ə sɪŋ /

adjective

1. giving favorable promise; likely to turn out well.

   a promising young man; a promising situation.

   Synonyms:

   favorable

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promising British  

/ ˈprɒmɪsɪŋ /

adjective

1. showing promise of favourable development or future success

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Other Word Forms

• promisingly adverb
• promisingness noun

Etymology

Origin of promising

First recorded in 1505–15; promise + -ing ²

Example Sentences

He’s the only child of a mother who struggled with infertility; when she was pregnant with him, she prayed for his survival, promising to name him after Jesus Christ.

From Los Angeles Times

Chen said achieving this looks promising and the company’s main goal for 2026 is to achieve profitability.

From The Wall Street Journal

He was rewarded with a five-year contract in September after a promising debut season, scoring 14 goals and helping Wolves finish 16th.

From BBC

Lenovo, the world's top PC maker, unveiled its own AI assistant Tuesday at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, promising a tool that follows users seamlessly across laptops, smartphones and connected devices.

From Barron's

England will leave Australia with few positives, but Bethell's graduation from promising talent to bona fide Test batter will live long in the memory.

From BBC

Related Words

• auspicious
• bright
• encouraging
• gifted
• talented
• up-and-coming