promising

adjective

prom·​is·​ing ˈprä-mə-siŋ How to pronounce promising (audio)
: full of promise : likely to succeed or to yield good results
a promising new medicine
promisingly adverb

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
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.
These three forces coming together certainly bodes a promising outcome for this venture. Dr. Sai Balasubramanian, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025 The idea the experience sparks — a titillating rendezvous with the naked man at the bottom of her sake glass, Jane would never — is enough to kickstart her writing, at least to spit out some very promising pages. Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 20 May 2025 If anything, the research holds some promising takeaways for people. Jamie Ducharme, Health, 20 May 2025 Something for almost everybody The Anno games scratch an itch that no other games do, and based on a few hours with a preview build, Anno 117 seems like a promising entry in that unique tradition. ArsTechnica, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for promising

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of promising was in 1594

Cite this Entry

“Promising.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/promising. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

promising

adjective
prom·​is·​ing
ˈpräm-ə-siŋ
: likely to turn out well
a promising student
promisingly
-siŋ-lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on promising

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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