Definition of CHAGRIN

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Noun

Chagrin comes from French, in which it means "grief," "sorrow," or essentially the same thing as our "chagrin," and in which it is also an adjective meaning "sad." Some etymologists have linked this "chagrin" with another French chagrin, meaning "rough leather or "rough skin." Supposedly, the rough leather used to rub, polish, or file became a metaphor in French for agitating situations. English-speakers have also adopted the leathery "chagrin" into our language but have altered the spelling to "shagreen."

Examples of chagrin in a Sentence

Noun

As many a woman has learned to her chagrin, pathological liars are brilliant at deception. — Katha Pollitt, Nation, 16 June 2003 In World War I, to his chagrin, Eisenhower again found himself on the sidelines, performing training duties stateside while Pershing, MacArthur, and Patton earned their battle ribbons. — U.S. News & World Report, 16 Mar. 1998 In 1628, to the chagrin of Governor William Bradford, the Pilgrims erected an 80-foot Maypole, danced around it, drank beer, and sang. — E. C. Krupp, Sky & Telescope, May 1994 Imagine my chagrin when a whiz kid from Dayton made all A's in the first quarter while I made two B's and a C+. — John Hope Franklin, Race and History, 1989 The fact that he'd been unable to attend the funeral was a source of chagrin for Ted. She had gained five pounds over the winter, much to her chagrin. He decided to get a tattoo, to the chagrin of his parents.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The real Churchill, sometimes to his chagrin, was painted to look much like a joyless bulldog, with squinted eyes and a protruding lower lip. — Katie Rogers, New York Times, "British Roll Out Trump’s Political Idol: Winston Churchill," 12 July 2018 Over at casa de Sam, Justine is settling in — much to his chagrin. — Kathryn Lindsay, refinery29.com, "R29 Binge Club: Glow Season 2, Episodes 1-10," 29 June 2018 Much to their chagrin, however, all had been removed in preparation for a wedding. — Leah Garchik, SFChronicle.com, "San Rafael Pacifics’ personal tribute to fatherhood," 20 June 2018 It was previously reported that Kendall and Kylie Jenner didn't RSVP to their brother's wedding, much to his chagrin. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Caitlyn Jenner Skipped Son Brody Jenner’s Wedding, and So Did Kendall and Kylie," 2 June 2018 All seven scenarios do not deal with facility issues or conditions, only with crowding and capacity, to the chagrin of some at the forum. — Cody Boteler, baltimoresun.com, "Possible fixes for Baltimore County high school overcrowding include new construction, 'aggressively' using space," 11 July 2018 For decades, the Supreme Court has generally hewed to a legal doctrine giving agencies wide berth in interpreting federal statute, much to the chagrin of conservatives wishing to rein in government. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: How Brett Kavanaugh could rein in environmental rules on the Supreme Court," 11 July 2018 The ubiquitous coffeehouse giant had been eyeing the corner of Cross and Hanover streets as a spot to open a new franchise, much to the chagrin of some North End shop owners, who worried the chain would weaken the neighborhood’s historic charm. — Danny Mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston’s Walsh opposes North End Starbucks proposal," 6 July 2018 The Carmel school board voted tonight to relocate the Orchard Park Elementary School 5 miles away and to rebuild Carmel Elementary School at its current site, much to the chagrin of a group of about a dozen local parents in the audience. — Faith E. Pinho, Indianapolis Star, "Carmel school board votes for two new elementary schools, to parents' frustration," 25 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

They have been particularly chagrined by his circumspect attitude toward special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of potential ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives during the campaign. — Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, "Gerard Baker replaced as editor of Wall Street Journal," 5 June 2018 Lawler was impressed by the Ramones' farming know-how and chagrined by the loss of their 5-acre livelihood. — John Tuohy, Indianapolis Star, "Nation's largest urban farm nears opening in Fishers with a little help from Puerto Rico," 22 May 2018 People with disabilities and advocates for disability rights have been particularly chagrined by one image making the rounds on social media: an upright man silhouetted against a backdrop of stars, with an empty wheelchair in the foreground. — Jessica Roy, latimes.com, "Erasing Stephen Hawking's disability erases an important part of who he was," 16 Mar. 2018 Free-trade advocates in the U.S., however, were chagrined at the split-screen image of Washington’s allies signing a new trade pact while the American president unveils new tariffs. — William Mauldin, WSJ, "Pacific Trade Pact Sets Sail Without the U.S. on Board," 8 Mar. 2018 There were announcement stunners, artful baseball cap reveals, apparent intra-family discord, flips that thrilled one program’s supporters and chagrined another’s. — Chris Johnson, SI.com, "National Signing Day 2018: Winners and Losers From the Fax Machine Frenzy," 7 Feb. 2018 Other investment banks based in Moscow were chagrined and suspected that Deutsche owed its success to its alliance with Russian state interests. — Luke Harding, Newsweek, "Is Donald Trump’s Dark Russian Secret Hiding in Deutsche Bank’s Vaults?," 21 Dec. 2017 Many in the foreign policy establishment were chagrined at Kushner’s comments to a group of congressional interns on July 31. — Tracy Wilkinson, chicagotribune.com, "Kushner heads to Israel for latest attempt at peace deal," 22 Aug. 2017 Whoever decided to start shopping Breaux or leaked the news that the club was poised to trade him before waiting on the second opinion should be chagrined. — John Roach, NOLA.com, "The Saints need a Breaux hug, LSU's QB questions, and more: Sports' weekly highlights," 19 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chagrin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.