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

• 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

Turning to earnings announced overnight, Advanced Micro Devices disappointed the street with a beat on the top and miss on the bottom line. —Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

The only thing he might have been disappointed about was RCA’s insistence that the purchase price of $35,000 would be accounted against one half of Elvis’ forthcoming royalties until it was fully paid off. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025

Dropping a different sport with more team members leaves more athletes disappointed. —Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025

And manager Warren Schaeffer was disappointed with the Rockies’ execution in several areas. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 3 Aug. 2025

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