dismayed

/dɪsˈmeɪd/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪsˈmeɪd/ (ame, ipa) · /dis-ˈmād diz-/ (ame, mw)

dismayed — adjective

  • dismayedpositive
  • more dismayedcomparative
  • most dismayedsuperlative

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

1.形容詞B2
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞

文法句型

be dismayed by/at + noun

be dismayed to + infinitive

be dismayed that + clause

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.