1
as in saddening
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2
as in inadequate
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Dissimilar Words
as in failing
to fall short in satisfying the expectation or hope of
they were disappointed by the outcome of the big game
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disappointing
Pj Green
april 12, Kansas City Star, 13 Apr. 2026
Detroit lost three leads in its last home game, falling 5-3 to the out-of-contention New Jersey Devils on Saturday, in what coach Todd McLellan called a microcosm of a disappointing season that extended the NHL's longest postseason drought that has dragged on for a decade.
—CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 24 Feb. 2026
The 30-year-old said that the whirlwind experience — being traded, shaving his bushy beard, disappointing his new team and getting demoted in less than a week’s time — taught him a lot about himself.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disappointing
Adjective
Williams will take her scoring and defensive prowess to an LSU team that also had a disappointing end to their season in the Sweet 16.
—Pj Green
april 12, Kansas City Star, 13 Apr. 2026
Detroit lost three leads in its last home game, falling 5-3 to the out-of-contention New Jersey Devils on Saturday, in what coach Todd McLellan called a microcosm of a disappointing season that extended the NHL's longest postseason drought that has dragged on for a decade.
—CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Verb
The day was cold and disagreeable, disappointing those who hoped for warm, sunny weather for the contest between Bogardus and Carver.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 24 Feb. 2026
The 30-year-old said that the whirlwind experience — being traded, shaving his bushy beard, disappointing his new team and getting demoted in less than a week’s time — taught him a lot about himself.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disappointing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disappointing
Adjective
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The backlash from certain parts of the media has been extremely saddening, particularly given how hard John works to raise awareness and understanding.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
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Gates has assembled a stimulating, illuminating, maddening, saddening, but often inspiring, story of their relations with the world and one another.—
Robert Lloyd,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In addition to reinforcing the fiduciary standards that are already in place for community associations, this will help to establish stronger grounds for claims involving unilateral acts by directors, inadequate reserve planning, inconsistent rules enforcement, or failures in management oversight.—
Evonne Andris,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Instead of making the case that a city’s environmental review was inadequate, residents will now be more often forced to argue that CEQA even applies at all.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Florida Justice Association — the trial lawyer lobby — spent millions to stop the reforms Maxwell now blames for failing consumers.—
David Wilson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The 2023 jury found the Berkshire utility liable for negligently failing to shut down power lines during a powerful windstorm, contributing to four separate wildfires that caused significant property damage.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Erika plot is one of the several dissatisfying threads in this episode.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
14 Nov. 2025
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Last season, the Bruins strung together three wins against Rutgers, Nebraska and Iowa – but that team resembled Chip Kelly’s decent-if-dissatisfying regime.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But with these recent iterations of the Heat, that overriding faith has proved damaging, creating a deficient team (Miami’s 23-32 against top-10 seeds) and diminished trade assets and leaving the franchise stuck in a play-in abyss with no clear escape route.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
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But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient.—
Imtiaz Rangwala,
Denver Post,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Most people would agree that cheating and planning a school shooting are hardly equal offenses, and Borgli doesn't totally stick the landing by sweeping Emma's past impulses under the rug.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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In the past, Bravo has resumed filming when controversies including its shows have arisen, most notably with the Vanderpump Rules season 10 cheating scandal called Scandoval.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But the growth was slightly slower than economists expected, and a measure of prices accelerated at its fastest pace since 2022 in a potentially discouraging signal for inflation.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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Both hosts often wept as Guthrie described her emotional journey through the increasingly discouraging investigation into her mother’s whereabouts.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
They were normally injured, inferior and underachieving.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
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The theory of the great replacement is that elites, or, depending on who told the story, Jews (not commonly a direct target of VDARE), have invited nonwhite immigrants with inferior bloodlines into white- dominated Western countries to weaken them and absorb more power for themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disappointing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disappointing. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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