1
as in disappointment
the emotion felt when one's expectations are not met
the museum exhibit was just so-so, and we returned home with a vague sense of letdown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to disappoint
to fall short in satisfying the expectation or hope of
with my poor performance I really felt that I had let my teammates down
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of letdown
Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2026
Yes, the challenges were a letdown and there was a bit of a lull just after the merge, but, all in all, this was a super solid season from top to bottom, and a nice change of pace.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Graham Scott, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Durable fabric panels can be cinched for easy access or let down for shade.
—Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for letdown
Noun
Whipping up a batch seems like a simple enough endeavor, yet a handful of common missteps can quickly turn the ideal home breakfast into a deflating letdown.
—Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 May 2026
Yes, the challenges were a letdown and there was a bit of a lull just after the merge, but, all in all, this was a super solid season from top to bottom, and a nice change of pace.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Verb
Nothing seemed to go right after he was let down badly by a misguided – OK, indefensible – VAR intervention in his second match of the season, which led to him wrongly ruling out a Josh King goal for Fulham at Chelsea.
—Graham Scott, New York Times, 24 May 2026
Durable fabric panels can be cinched for easy access or let down for shade.
—Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for letdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for letdown
Noun
-
For some advocacy groups, this latest attempt came as a huge disappointment.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
And to keep fighting to fulfill the promise of this nation, even in the face of cruelty and bitter disappointment.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
On the other hand, a hydrangea species that can sometimes disappoint Chicago-area gardeners is the bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), known for having big blue blooms when grown in acid soil and popular in the eastern United States.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2026
-
And then probably the thing that kept me up more at night in the beginning was not wanting to disappoint Vince.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Kiley left the Republican Party earlier this year, citing frustration with partisanship.—
Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
-
In Ghana, there also remains frustration at the old FIFA rules which dictated that once a player had represented a country at youth level, he was bound to it forever.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
This escalates into a dragon chase and Aemond’s giant, ancient beast is overcome with bloodlust, killing Luke and his dragon much to the dismay of Aemond One-Eye.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
-
The iconic toys from the series – Woody, Buzz Lightyear, the Potato Heads, Forky and Slinky Dog – then watch in dismay as Bonnie casts them all aside in favor of the bright tablet screen.—
Aarushi Bhandari,
The Conversation,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Letdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/letdown. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
