disappointed

Word family

• disappoint
  verbB2
• disappointing
  adjectiveB1
• disappointment
  nounB1
• disappointingly
  adverbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Disappointed is the general word for sadness when hopes are not met. Let down is more personal and informal — it suggests a specific person or promise failed you (e.g., 'She felt let down by her closest friend'). Dissatisfied is cooler and more factual: it applies when a product or service fails to meet a standard ('The hotel guests were dissatisfied with the room size'). Disheartened shifts the focus from the outcome to your morale — you lose confidence or energy ('The team was disheartened after three straight losses'). Disillusioned is the strongest: it describes the painful realisation that someone or something is not as good as you once believed, often after a longer period ('Young voters became disillusioned with the political system'). Use disappointed for everyday situations; save the others when you need a more precise shade of feeling.

Common collocations

Etymology

Disappointed comes from the Old French word desapointier, which meant 'to remove from office' — a combination of des- (expressing reversal) and apointier (to arrange or appoint). In the late 1400s it shifted to mean 'to fail to keep an appointment,' and by the 1500s it had taken on the modern sense of 'failing to meet someone's hopes or expectations.' The adjective form disappointed appeared in English around the early 17th century.