DISAPPOINTMENT

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An act (or failure to act) that disappoints someone

Synonyms:

dashing hopes; disappointment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("disappointment" is a kind of...):

failure (an unexpected omission)

Derivation:

disappoint (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized

Example:

his hopes were so high he was doomed to disappointment

Synonyms:

disappointment; letdown

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("disappointment" is a kind of...):

dissatisfaction (the feeling of being displeased and discontent)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disappointment"):

defeat; frustration (the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals)

Derivation:

disappoint (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

Credits

Context examples:

Dorothy was ready to cry with disappointment.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

But I must warn you also that, if you think you will find much that is of interest in your guide, you are destined to disappointment.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Baron looked at his watch and gave a guttural exclamation of disappointment.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Long John's eyes burned in his head as he took the chart, but by the fresh look of the paper I knew he was doomed to disappointment.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

She made a mouè of disappointment.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

To the general disappointment, however, it was not to be found; it seems to have disappeared entirely from the town.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Never have I felt such a cold chill of disappointment, Watson.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Holmes plunged his eager hand into it and drew it out with a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment.