dismayed

IPA/dɪsˈmeɪd/
KK[dɪsmˈed]IPA/dɪsˈmeɪd/

dismayed — adjective

  • dismayedpositive
  • more dismayedcomparative
  • most dismayedsuperlative

1. feeling sad, worried, or discouraged after something bad or surprising happens —

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

feeling sad, worried, or discouraged after something bad or surprising happens — for example, hearing the school will close, or watching a project you cared about go wrong.

Example

Yumi was dismayed to find her bicycle missing from the rack outside the library.

be dismayed + to-infinitive after an unwelcome discovery

Many parents felt dismayed by the sudden decision to close the neighbourhood primary school.

be dismayed by + noun phrase naming the cause

Common collocations
  • deeply dismayed
  • clearly dismayed
  • visibly dismayed
  • dismayed to learn
  • dismayed to discover
  • dismayed by the news
Synonyms
  • disheartened

    stronger sense of losing motivation; common after repeated setbacks

  • appalled

    stronger and more moral — reserved for shocking or offensive events

  • disappointed

    milder; about unmet expectations rather than worried shock

  • shaken

    emphasises emotional unsteadiness after the bad news

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be dismayed by/at + noun

be dismayed to + infinitive

be dismayed that + clause

Usage Note

Almost always predicative — you say someone is/feels/looks dismayed, not 'a dismayed person' very often. Subject is typically a person (or group) reacting to specific bad news, an unwelcome change, or a disappointing discovery; the cause usually follows as a by/at-phrase, to-infinitive, or that-clause.

Common Mistakes

I am dismayed of the news.
I am dismayed by the news.
use 'by' or 'at' for the cause, never 'of'.
She is a very dismayed woman.
She looked dismayed when she heard the news.
'dismayed' describes a reaction to something specific, not a permanent personality trait.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe an unhappy reaction to something, but they differ in cause and intensity. 'Disappointed' is the mildest — it only requires that something fell short of expectations (a poor exam result, a cancelled trip). 'Dismayed' adds worry and a touch of shock to the disappointment, usually because the bad news was unexpected; you are dismayed by sudden announcements or unwelcome discoveries. 'Disheartened' shifts the focus to lost motivation — after repeated setbacks, a person feels disheartened and may give up. 'Appalled' is the strongest and carries a moral charge: it is reserved for events you find shocking or wrong, like cruelty or serious mismanagement. So 'I was disappointed when the picnic was cancelled', 'I was dismayed to learn the company was closing', 'I was disheartened after my third rejection letter', and 'I was appalled by the way he treated his staff'.

dismayed ↗disheartened ↗appalleddisappointed ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • dismayed to learn
  • dismayed to find
  • dismayed to discover
  • dismayed to hear
  • dismayed by the news

Prepositions

Etymology

GermanicVulgar LatinAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

From the verb 'dismay', which entered English in the 13th century via Anglo-French 'desmaiier'. The root combines a Latin negative prefix with a Germanic stem meaning 'to have power' — so the original sense was 'to deprive of power or courage', which over time softened into the modern meaning of being shocked and discouraged by bad news.