disappoint

verb

dis·​ap·​point ˌdis-ə-ˈpȯint 

disappointed; disappointing; disappoints

transitive verb

: to fail to meet the expectation or hope of : frustrate

The team disappointed its fans.

He disappointed his parents with his decision.

intransitive verb

: to fail to meet a hope or expectation : to cause disappointment

… where the show disappoints most is in the work of the younger generation.

—John Ashbery

Synonyms of disappoint

• fail
• cheat
• displease
• upset

Examples of disappoint in a Sentence

The team disappointed its fans.

The show may disappoint some viewers.

The novel disappoints by being predictable and overly long.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ted Williams of the Red Sox didn’t disappoint the hometown fans. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

ImaZins via Getty Images While the first quarter of 2026 saw record-breaking new BTS and BLACKPINK albums, plus Grammy and Oscar wins from KPop Demon Hunters, Q2 did not disappoint. — Jeff Benjamin, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

The fans were disappointed by Tuesday’s loss but pointed with pride at the team’s historic performance. — ABC News, 7 July 2026

Hanwha vows to expand Canadian ties Hanwha Canada said it was disappointed with the result but said the competition showed the strength of South Korea’s defense industry. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English disapointen to dispossess, from Middle French desapointer, from des- dis- + appointer to arrange — more at appoint

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for disappoint

• counterpoint
• multipoint
• needlepoint
• reappoint
• adjoint
• anoint
• appoint
• checkpoint
• conjoint
• disjoint
• endpoint
• gunpoint

Kids Definition

disappoint

verb

dis·​ap·​point ˌdis-ə-ˈpȯint 

: to fail to meet the expectation or hope of

the team disappointed its fans