dismay

«dismay» in Mova's school dictionary: a sudden sad, worried feeling when something bad or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (dismay — uncountable); verb (dismay, dismays, dismayed, dismaying); adjective dismayed

meaning for a pupil

1) Dismay is a sudden sad, worried feeling when something bad or disappointing happens. tree →

2) To dismay someone is to make them feel shocked and upset. tree →

3) (formal) To someone's dismay means «and they were upset that». tree →

sense in the lessons

A feelings word in stories: it tells the reader a character has just had bad news or a nasty surprise, often with a falling heart. In news and formal writing «to the dismay of fans». Phrases: in dismay, to my dismay, filled with dismay, dismayed by.

examples

• To my dismay, the ice cream van had gone. tree →
• She stared in dismay at the broken vase. tree →
• The rain dismayed everyone at the sports day. tree →
• He was dismayed to find his homework was missing. tree →
• The fans groaned in dismay as the ball hit the post. tree →
• Much to our dismay, the trip was cancelled. tree →
• The teacher was dismayed by the mess in the classroom. tree →
• But I have eaten it!” exclaimed the baker in dismay. tree →

note

Dismay is uncountable (no «a dismay»). Dismayed is used with «by», «at» or «to + verb». It is stronger than disappointment but weaker than horror. Not a «dis-» opposite of «may».

In the corpora

• And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
• And they shall be dismayed and ashamed, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
• For through the voice of the LORD shall Asshur be dismayed, the rod with which He smote.
• In his neck abideth strength, and dismay danceth before him.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «dismay» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.