dismay
English · Thesaurus
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dismay
- /dɪsˈmeɪ/
Rhymes with -eɪ
Where it comes from
From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier (“to frighten”), probably from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Proto-Germanic *maginą, *maganą (“might, power”), from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able”).
Akin to Old High German magan, megin (“power, might, main”), Old English mæġen (“might, main”), Old High German magan, mugan (“to be powerful, able”), Old English magan (“to be able”). Cognate with Portuguese desmaiar (“to faint”) and Spanish esmayar. See also Portuguese esmagar, Spanish amagar. More at main, may.
verb dismays · dismaying · dismayed
- To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.
- To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet. Do not dismay yourself for this.
- To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
noun
-
A sudden or complete loss of courage and firmness in the face of trouble or danger; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits
He looked in dismay at the destruction of the town caused by the hurricane.
Similar: consternation
- Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: appall, deject, disheartenment, depress, discouragement, dispirit, demoralize, horrify, cast down, consternation, appal, get down, alarm, despondency, desperation, despair
Translations
Every language
verb to disable with alarm or apprehensions
| 한국어 | 놀라다 nollada, 경악하다 gyeong'akhada |
|---|---|
| Português | assombrar |
| Français | affliger |
| Italiano | abbattere, abbattersi, mortificare, mortificarsi |
| Русский | ужаса́ть užasátʹ, ужасну́ть užasnútʹ, трево́жить trevóžitʹ, встрево́жить vstrevóžitʹ |
verb to render lifeless
| Français | mortifier |
|---|---|
| Italiano | scoraggiare, scoraggiarsi, mortificarsi |
verb to take dismay or fright
| Français | avoir peur |
|---|
noun a sudden loss of courage
| Español | espanto, estupefacción, consternación |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 놀람 nollam, 경악 gyeong'ak, 실망 silmang |
| 日本語 | 狼狽 rōbai |
| Português | espanto |
| Français | désarroi, consternation |
| Deutsch | Furcht, Ohnmacht |
| Italiano | sbigottimento, costernazione, smarrimento |
| Română | desperare, spaimă |
| Русский | страх strax, уны́ние unýnije, испу́г ispúg |
Talk about this word "dismay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dismay. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dismay. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dismay "dismay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dismay.Cite this
@misc{dismay_2026,
title = {dismay},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dismay},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
