Adjacent Words

Dismay definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISMAY, v.t. To deprive of that strength or firmness of mind which constitutes courage; to discourage; to dishearten; to sink or depress the spirits or resolution; hence, to affright or terrify.
Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Josh 1.
DISMAY, n. Fall or loss of courage; a sinking of the spirits; depression; dejection; a yielding to fear; that loss of firmness which is effected by fear or terror; fear impressed; terror felt.
And each in others countenance read his own dismay.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles [syn: discouragement, disheartenment, dismay]
2: fear resulting from the awareness of danger [syn: alarm, dismay, consternation] v
1: lower someone's spirits; make downhearted; "These news depressed her"; "The bad state of her child's health demoralizes her" [syn: depress, deject, cast down, get down, dismay, dispirit, demoralize, demoralise] [ant: elate, intoxicate, lift up, pick up, uplift]
2: fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised; "I was horrified at the thought of being late for my interview"; "The news of the executions horrified us" [syn: dismay, alarm, appal, appall, horrify]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (dismayed; dismaying) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French desmaier, from des- dis- + -maier, from Vulgar Latin *-magare, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German magan to be able — more at may Date: 13th century 1. to cause to lose courage or resolution (as because of alarm or fear) <must not let ourselves be dismayed by the task before us> 2. upset, perturb <were dismayed by the condition of the building> • dismayingly adverb Synonyms: dismay, appall, horrify, daunt mean to unnerve or deter by arousing fear, apprehension, or aversion. dismay implies that one is disconcerted and at a loss as to how to deal with something <dismayed at the size of the job>. appall implies that one is faced with that which perturbs, confounds, or shocks <I am appalled by your behavior>. horrify stresses a reaction of horror or revulsion <was horrified by such wanton cruelty>. daunt suggests a cowing, disheartening, or frightening in a venture requiring courage <a cliff that would daunt the most intrepid climber>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. sudden loss of courage or resolution from alarm or fear 2. a. sudden disappointment b. perturbation 1

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. fill with consternation or anxiety; discourage or depress; reduce to despair. --n. 1 consternation or anxiety. 2 depression or despair. Etymology: ME f. OF desmaiier (unrecorded) ult. f. a Gmc root = deprive of power (as DIS-, MAY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dismay Dis*may", v. i. To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dismay Dis*may", n. [Cf. OF. esmai, F. ['e]moi. See Dismay, v. t.] 1. Loss of courage and firmness through fear; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation. I . . . can not think of such a battle without dismay. --Macaulay. Thou with a tiger spring dost leap upon thy prey, And tear his helpless breast, o'erwhelmed with wild dismay. --Mrs. Barbauld. 2. Condition fitted to dismay; ruin. --Spenser. Syn: Dejection; discouragement; depression; fear; fright; terror; apprehension; alarm; affright.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dismay Dis*may", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dismayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dismaying.] [OE. desmaien, dismaien, OF. esmaier; pref. es- (L. ex) + OHG. magan to be strong or able; akin to E. may. In English the pref. es- was changed to dis- (L. dis-). See May, v. i.] 1. To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive or firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. --Josh. i. 9. What words be these? What fears do you dismay? --Fairfax. 2. To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet. [Obs.] Do not dismay yourself for this. --Spenser. Syn: To terrify; fright; affright; frighten; appall; daunt; dishearthen; dispirit; discourage; deject; depress. -- To Dismay, Daunt, Appall. Dismay denotes a state of deep and gloomy apprehension. To daunt supposes something more sudden and startling. To appall is the strongest term, implying a sense of terror which overwhelms the faculties. So flies a herd of beeves, that hear, dismayed, The lions roaring through the midnight shade. --Pope. Jove got such heroes as my sire, whose soul No fear could daunt, nor earth nor hell control. --Pope. Now the last ruin the whole host appalls; Now Greece has trembled in her wooden walls. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dismays, dismaying, dismayed) 1. Dismay is a strong feeling of fear, worry, or sadness that is caused by something unpleasant and unexpected. (FORMAL) Local councillors have reacted with dismay and indignation... N-UNCOUNT: oft to N with poss 2. If you are dismayed by something, it makes you feel afraid, worried, or sad. (FORMAL) The committee was dismayed by what it had been told... The thought that she was crying dismayed him. VERB: be V-ed, V n • dismayed He was dismayed at the cynicism of the youngsters... ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ at n, ADJ to-inf/that

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Terrify, frighten, appall, affright, scare, alarm, intimidate, paralyze with fear, daunt. II. n. Terror, fright, affright, fear, alarm, horror, consternation.

Moby Thesaurus

abash, abject fear, affright, agitate, agitation, alarm, anxiety, appall, apprehension, astound, awe, bewilder, blue funk, bother, cold feet, confound, consternation, cow, cowardice, daunt, discomfit, discomfort, discompose, disconcert, discourage, dishearten, disquiet, distress, dread, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, fear, flummox, flurry, fluster, fright, frighten, funk, grieve, horrification, horrify, horror, intimidate, lament, moider, mourn, mystify, nonplus, pain, panic, panic fear, perplex, perturb, petrify, phobia, pother, put off, put out, puzzle, rattle, scare, shake, shock, sorrow, stampede, startle, take aback, terrify, terror, trepidation, unhinge, unholy dread, unnerve, unsettle, upset