promising

1 of 2

adjective

prom·​is·​ing ˈprä-mə-siŋ How to pronounce promising (audio)
Synonyms of promisingnext
: full of promise : likely to succeed or to yield good results
a promising new medicine
promisingly adverb

promising

2 of 2

present participle of promise entry 2

Synonyms of promising

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Adjective

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Examples of promising in a Sentence

Adjective The neighborhood didn't look very promising. a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Roche unveiled strong data from divarasib in non-small cell lung cancer, and Incyte showed promising results from INCB161734 in pancreatic cancer. — Amanda Erickson, STAT, 27 Oct. 2026 One Mithril program reached promising results in mice within 18 months. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2026 Series creator Quinn Shephard made the very good movie Not Okay and has a strong grasp of teenage angst, so The Body seems pretty promising. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 While the results initially looked promising, human review led to a different assessment. — Swapnil Upganlawar, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for promising

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1594, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of promising was in 1594

Rhymes for promising

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Browse Nearby Words

promise (someone) the stars/moon/earth/world
promising
promissor
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Promising.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/promising. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Kids Definition

promising

adjective
prom·​is·​ing
ˈpräm-ə-siŋ
: likely to turn out well
a promising student
promisingly
-siŋ-lē
adverb
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