promising
[prom-uh-sing]
- giving favorable promise; likely to turn out well: a promising young man; a promising situation.
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Origin of promising
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comfavorable, reassuring, encouraging.
promise
[prom-is]
- a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one: unkept political promises.
- an express assurance on which expectation is to be based: promises that an enemy will not win.
- something that has the effect of an express assurance; indication of what may be expected.
- indication of future excellence or achievement: a writer who shows promise.
- something that is promised.
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- to engage or undertake by promise (usually used with an infinitive or a clause as object): She promised to go tomorrow.
- to make a promise of (some specified act, gift, etc.): to promise help.
- to make a promise of something to (a specified person): Promise me that you will come.
- to afford ground for expecting: The sky promised a storm.
- to engage to join in marriage.
- to assure (used in emphatic declarations): I won't go there again, I promise you that!
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- to afford ground for expectation (often followed by well or fair): His forthcoming novel promises well.
- to make a promise.
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Origin of promise
1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English promis(se) < Medieval Latin prōmissa, for Latin prōmissum, noun use of neuter past participle of prōmittere to promise, literally, to send forth, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + mittere to send; (v.) late Middle English promisen, derivative of the noun
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
talentedup-and-cominggiftedencouragingauspiciousbrightrisingassuringreassuringablefavorablehappylikelyluckypropitiousroseaterosyExamples from the Web for promising
Contemporary Examples
He has struck a promising tone these last few days with his rhetoric about trying to “see each other.”
I made the mistake of promising one group of guys they could ask me anything if they answered my questions.
The Craziest Date Night for Single Jews, Where Mistletoe Is Ditched for ShotsEmily Shire
December 26, 2014
Atlanta, Georgia, USA Atlanta is quickly becoming one of the most promising LGBT HQs on the globe.
The Ultimate LGBT Travel Bucket ListDecember 12, 2014
Others are here to invest in artists with promising reputations, and thus the possibility of future ROI.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary ArtJay Michaelson
December 6, 2014
What does that promising growth mean for the renegade brewers at Casa Bruja?
Historical Examples
The view was very extensive but not promising--spinifex being in every direction.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
But this man was promising me more than she had done, and his every word was measured.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
He begged and implored that his life might be spared, promising to tell all that might be asked of him.
Howard Pyle's Book of PiratesHoward Pyle
There goes one of the finest and most promising young men in this town.
She left her, therefore, taking the other Sister with her, and promising to see to everything.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
promising
- showing promise of favourable development or future success
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promise
- (often foll by to; when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to give an assurance of (something to someone); undertake (to do something) in the futureI promise that I will come
- (tr) to undertake to give (something to someone)he promised me a car for my birthday
- (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
- (usually passive) to engage to be married; betrothI'm promised to Bill
- (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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- 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
- indication of forthcoming excellence or goodnessa writer showing considerable promise
- the thing of which an assurance is given
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin prōmissum a promise, from prōmittere to send forth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for promising
adj.
"showing signs of future excellence," c.1600, present participle adjective from promise (v.). Related: Promisingly.
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promise
n.
c.1400, "a pledge, vow," from Old French promesse "promise, guarantee, assurance" (13c.) and directly from Latin promissum "a promise," noun use of neuter past participle of promittere "send forth; let go; foretell; assure beforehand, promise," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). The ground sense is "declaration made about the future, about some act to be done or not done."
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promise
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with promising
promise
see lick and a promise.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.