dismay
pronunciation
How to pronounce dismay in British English:
UK [dɪsˈmeɪ]
How to pronounce dismay in American English:
US [dɪsˈmeɪ]
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- Noun:
- the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
- fear resulting from the awareness of danger
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- Verb:
- lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
- fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
Word Origin
- dismay
- dismay: [13] The underlying meaning of dismay is ‘deprive of power’ – its second syllable is ultimately the same word as the verb may. It comes via Old French desmaier from Vulgar Latin *dismagāre ‘deprive of power’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘un-’ and the borrowed Germanic base *mag- ‘power, ability’ (source of English may).=> may
- dismay (v.)
- late 13c., dismaien, from Old French *desmaier (attested only in past participle dismaye), from Latin de- intensive prefix + Old French esmaier "to trouble, disturb," from Vulgar Latin *exmagare "divest of power or ability" (source of Italian smagare "to weaken, dismay, discourage"), from ex- (see ex-) + Germanic stem *mag- "power, ability" (cognates: Old High German magen "to be powerful or able;" see may (v.)). Spanish desmayer "to be dispirited" is a loan word from Old French. Related: Dismayed; dismaying.
- dismay (n.)
- c. 1300, from dismay (v.).
Antonym
Example
- 1. Arab fighters largely pulled out in dismay .
- 2. But shanghai market watchers say that nationalistic euphoria or dismay would prove short-lived .
- 3. He sees , with dismay , much the same limitations among his readers in china .
- 4. This means that you need feel no embarrassment or dismay about the financial predicament of your committee member .
- 5. As the financial crisis unfolded , those who trusted most strongly in free markets watched in dismay and bewilderment .