disappointment
noun
Disappointment — an act, or failure to act, that lets someone down
Definition
An act (or failure to act) that disappoints someone
In depth
Disappointment, in this sense, names an act or failure to act that disappoints someone, the specific deed or omission responsible for unmet expectation, distinct from the resulting emotional state the word more commonly describes. The word implies a gap between what was reasonably hoped for and what actually occurred.
Origin
The word descends from French desappointer, to remove from office or undo an appointment, formed from des- (undoing) and appointer (to appoint). That curious bureaucratic origin, the literal undoing of a formal appointment or arrangement, has broadened considerably into the now-familiar emotional sense of any unmet expectation, however informal.
Usage examples
"His repeated disappointment of her trust eventually made any reconciliation feel impossible."
"The team's disappointment of its loyal fans, season after season, finally drove attendance to record lows."
"She had grown accustomed to small disappointments, the gentle, repeated gap between expectation and reality."
How to use it
Disappointment most commonly names the emotional state of feeling let down, but writers should note this less common sense, naming the specific causal act itself, useful in formal writing analyzing the precise cause behind an unmet expectation.
Related concepts
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