Promising — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb /ˈprä-mə-siŋ/ prom·is·ing

Meaning & Definition of Promising

Promising (adjective)

  1. full of promise, likely to succeed or to yield good results

Promising (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having qualities which inspire hope

    "a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday"

    similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, optimistic, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat
    related: cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, favorable, good
    opposite: bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious
    near: cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched

  2. pointing toward a happy outcome

    "all the signs for the new business are promising"

    similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, favorable, golden, heartening, hopeful, propitious
    related: fortunate, fortuitous, happy, lucky, providential, advantageous, beneficial, profitable, prosperous, salutary
    opposite: dim, discouraging, disheartening, futureless, hopeless, inauspicious, unfavorable, unpromising, unpropitious
    near: unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky, calamitous, catastrophic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous, baleful, dark, dire, direful, doomy, foreboding, gloomy, ill, ill-boding, menacing, minatory, ominous, portentous, sinister, threatening

Promising (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to make a solemn declaration of intent

    "they promised to keep in touch with us after they moved away"

    similar: covenanting, pledging, swearing, vowing, giving one's word
    related: affiancing, betrothing, plighting, trothing, acceding, agreeing, assenting, consenting, contracting, engaging, ensuring, guaranteeing, undertaking, affirming, asserting, averring, avouching, avowing, declaring, insisting, warranting

  2. to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome

    "given the cast, the new sitcom promises to be an excellent show"

    similar: auguring, boding, foreboding, bidding fair
    related: forecasting, foretelling, predicting, presaging, prognosticating, prophesying, forewarning, warning, anticipating, divining, foreknowing, foreseeing, betokening, foreshadowing, harbingering, portending, prefiguring, presignifying, indicating, signifying, alluding, connoting, hinting, implying, insinuating, intimating, suggesting

Related Entry: Promise (verb)

Promise is a different word from Promising. The synonyms below are for promise, not for promising.

  1. to make a solemn declaration of intent

    "they promised to keep in touch with us after they moved away"

    similar: covenant, pledge, swear, vow, give one's word
    related: affiance, betroth, plight, troth, accede, agree, assent, consent, contract, engage, ensure, guarantee, undertake, affirm, assert, aver, avouch, avow, declare, insist, warrant

  2. to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome

    "given the cast, the new sitcom promises to be an excellent show"

    similar: augur, bode, forebode, bid fair
    related: forecast, foretell, predict, presage, prognosticate, prophesy, forewarn, warn, anticipate, divine, foreknow, foresee, betoken, foreshadow, harbinger, portend, prefigure, presignify, indicate, signify, allude, connote, hint, imply, insinuate, intimate, suggest

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Promising

The most common words with a similar meaning to Promising:

auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, optimistic, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat, favorable, covenanting, pledging, swearing, vowing, auguring, boding, foreboding, giving one's word, bidding fair

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Promising

Words with the opposite meaning of Promising:

bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious, dim, futureless, unfavorable

Related Words for Promising

cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, good, fortunate, fortuitous, happy, lucky, providential, advantageous, beneficial, profitable, prosperous, salutary, affiancing, betrothing, plighting, trothing, acceding

Near Antonyms of Promising

cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky, calamitous, catastrophic, disastrous, fatal, ruinous, baleful, dire, direful, doomy, foreboding, ill, ill-boding, menacing, minatory

Word Forms of Promising

Derived words: promisingly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Promising

First known use: 1594

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Promising

Frequently Asked Questions about Promising

What does "Promising" mean?

"Promising" means full of promise, likely to succeed or to yield good results. As an an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: full of promise, likely to succeed or to yield good results. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Promising"?

Other words for "Promising" include auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful and likely. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Promising" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Promising"?

There are 97 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Promising". Common alternatives include auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, optimistic and propitious.

What is the opposite of "Promising"?

Antonyms of "Promising" include bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal and downbeat. Near antonyms include cheerless, comfortless, doubtful and dubious.

How do you use "Promising" in a sentence?

Examples of "Promising" in a sentence: "a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday"; "all the signs for the new business are promising"; "they promised to keep in touch with us after they moved away".

Is "Promising" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Promising" can be used as an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Promising" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Promising" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Promising"?

"Promising" is pronounced /ˈprä-mə-siŋ/ and divided into syllables as prom·is·ing.