promising 1 of 2

adjective

ˈprä-mə-siŋ How to pronounce promising (audio)
Definition of promisingnext
1
as in bright
having qualities which inspire hope a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in encouraging
pointing toward a happy outcome all the signs for the new business are promising

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

promising

2 of 2

verb

present participle of promise
1
as in vowing
to make a solemn declaration of intent they promised to keep in touch with us after they moved away

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in predicting
to show signs of a favorable or successful outcome given the cast, the new sitcom promises to be an excellent show

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of promising
Adjective
Her music quickly gained recognition in Canada, earning her a Juno Award in 1989 for most promising female vocalist. — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 4 Oct. 2026 The success for the rerelease is a promising sign for the big-budget Doomsday. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
With the company saddled with $80 billion in debt and promising to cut $6 billion in costs, thousands of workers are expected to be let go. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026 What Could Be Next The next phase of the gut-health trend may be less about promising a ‘reset’ and more about showing what these retreats can actually measure. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for promising
Recent Examples of Synonyms for promising
  1. bright
  2. encouraging
  3. vowing
  4. predicting
  5. optimistic
  6. favorable
  7. swearing
  8. warning
Adjective
  • The shoe features a bright Hot Punch/Neo Pink colorway, which translates to a pink gradient fade across the sneaker’s signature Opticast upper.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Micron’s bright outlook Micron delivered another blowout quarter Wednesday, but the bigger takeaway was management’s outlook on the supply-demand imbalance and the prospect for a powerful stock buyback.
    — Alexa LoMonaco,Jeff Nash, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of bright
Adjective
  • What is encouraging about the Guardians is that all of their runs in that game came from hits that stayed in the yard.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Still, there were encouraging signs from the offense, particularly in the running game.
    — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouraging
Verb
  • Seminole’s rural boundary is a hot political topic, with nearly every candidate running for office in Seminole this election year vowing to protect the area mostly east of the Econlockhatchee River and covering about one third of the county.
    — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The future for national cinema is bleak under a potential Flávio Bolsonaro presidency, with the candidate vowing to mimic virtually all of his father’s policies—and tighten some even further.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of vowing
Verb
  • The initiative has not yet produced a universal virtual cell capable of accurately predicting arbitrary biological responses.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026
  • That's a much different call than predicting Micron will earn dramatically more profits than the current Wall Street consensus.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of predicting
Adjective
  • She’s mentored by Jae (Major Curda), a member of Ellora’s municipal Bending Brigade, and his captain Karthik (Akshay Khanna), who has a more optimistic view of the Avatar’s potential than those that blame her for ending the world.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Zhang plays optimistic puzzle master Florence, and Sula is Conrad’s estranged daughter and criminal psychologist Astrid.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of optimistic
Adjective
  • And because Alta sits at a higher elevation in the Wasatch, a favorable shift in the storm track could quickly turn the season around.
    — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Among his party, Fetterman is performing even worse, with 69% of Democrats having an unfavorable opinion of the senator compared to 13% who have a favorable opinion.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of favorable
Verb
  • Coyotec comes up with unexpected takes on topics and sometimes has to be told to stop swearing.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter shakes hands with Purdue Northwest students after swearing them in as interns with the High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
    — Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of swearing
Verb
  • That helps explain why the recent data is warning about demand fragility and consumer bifurcation, not a mirror of the pre-financial crisis period.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Lula’s government opposed the move, warning that applying a terrorism framework to Brazilian criminal groups could become a pretext for foreign intervention.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of warning

Browse Nearby Words

promises
promising
promisingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Promising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/promising. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All