dismaying

adjective

dis·​may·​ing dis-ˈmā-iŋ How to pronounce dismaying (audio)
diz-
: causing feelings of alarmed concern or agitation
heard some dismaying news
… at a time when Hollywood was quietly panicking over dismaying financial statistics.Robert F. Moss
It is somewhat dismaying to see how far Mr. Jennings often goes in his zeal …Ronald Sanders
dismayingly adverb
a dismayingly long list of problems
This is a place where achieving any sort of closure on important national traumas … has proved dismayingly elusive. Max Rodenbeck

Examples of dismaying in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And yet the industry is beset by a dismaying trend: More and more, people are watching movies on their laptops, tablets, and smartphones. IEEE Spectrum, 21 Feb. 2014 For the Congolese government, the ineffective Western responses follow a dismaying pattern. Michela Wrong, Foreign Affairs, 3 Mar. 2025 Americans, and a dismaying number of politicians, keep crying for a crackdown on crimes that aren’t happening. F.k. Plous, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025 The late President’s priorities were remarkably prescient, and his personal qualities offered a dismaying contrast to so much of the present state of American politics. Erin Neil, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for dismaying

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dismaying was in 1582

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Cite this Entry

“Dismaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dismaying. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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