Meaning & use

promising

adjective·Everyday

Showing signs that someone or something will succeed or turn out well in the future.

See it in a sentence

The young pianist showed promising talent after only two years of lessons.

Early results from the trial looked promising, encouraging the researchers to continue.

A note on using this word

Promising describes potential rather than a guaranteed outcome, so it is often paired with words like young, early, or start.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

discouragingunpromising

Make it your own

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