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
ABC News, 11 May 2026
He’s been beloved by fans, respected by his peers and consistently close enough on the biggest stages to make the major-less résumé feel more surprising than disappointing.
—Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 May 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
Chastain and Zilisch qualified in the top 20 while van Gisbergen was a disappointing 30th.
—ABC News, 11 May 2026
He’s been beloved by fans, respected by his peers and consistently close enough on the biggest stages to make the major-less résumé feel more surprising than disappointing.
—Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 May 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
-
The result is a bonus both surprising and saddening.—
Bob Brody,
Baltimore Sun,
9 May 2026
-
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
Adjective
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The children were processed in tents before being taken to emergency shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services, some of which were criticized by child welfare advocates as having inadequate conditions.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
-
In a separate study, Perez recently found that evidence showing that depression scales hold steady across other features, such as gender and culture, is inadequate.—
Simon Makin,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The president pressed Nigeria last fall to take more action against terrorism, accusing the country of failing to deal with rampant violence against Christians.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
-
Their father, Nahuel (Amién), flits from one romantic affair to another, failing to recognize his shortcomings the way fathers typically forget minor yet significant details, like mistaking his younger daughter’s shoe size or never delivering on his promise to have the sink fixed.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
All babies are born deficient in vitamin K, which is vital to blood clotting, and cannot form what are called clotting factors, or substances in the body that help stop bleeding naturally.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
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Effect sizes are modest for healthy adults but meaningful for those who are deficient.—
Allison Palmer,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Though that 2017 championship is marred by one of the most egregious cheating scandals in baseball history.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
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Portraits of him as a cheating drunk, who was unfaithful to his first wife, Julia Nye, also surfaced.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
In another discouraging signal, price increases accelerated by more in April than economists expected even after excluding gasoline and food costs.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
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The first half of this homestand has been particularly discouraging because the Phillies, though rich in talent, came to Miami at 12-19 before winning three of four at loanDepot Park.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Husbands are also inferior house cleaners.—
Joe Salas
May 09,
New Atlas,
9 May 2026
-
Though Rogers is Christian, his story of transformation from weakling to hero certainly spoke to young Jewish boys and men, who were often inaccurately portrayed in the media and press as intellectually superior but physically inferior.—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disappointing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disappointing. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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