promising

adjective

prom·​is·​ing ˈprä-mə-siŋ 

: full of promise : likely to succeed or to yield good results

a promising new medicine

promisingly adverb

Synonyms of promising

• bright
• optimistic
• hopeful
• encouraging
• likely

Examples of promising in a Sentence

The neighborhood didn't look very promising.

a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday

Recent Examples on the Web

Channel 5’s The Game, which is now available in the US via BritBox, stars some very talented actors and kicks off with a promising premise. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

All of a sudden, his promising present and his painful youth come crashing together. —Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026

Crawford and Sandoval are both established MLB veterans who missed all of last season due to injuries, while Early, Tolle and Harrison are promising upstarts still looking to establish themselves as big leaguers. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

Some people believe that agents are productivity boosters with little to no downside; others see them as promising but early technology; still others see them as fundamentally dangerous. —IEEE Spectrum, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for promising

• unpromising

Kids Definition

promising

adjective

prom·​is·​ing

ˈpräm-ə-siŋ

: likely to turn out well

a promising student

promisingly

-siŋ-lē

adverb