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promise
[ prom-is ]
noun
- a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one:
unkept political promises.
- an express assurance on which expectation is to be based:
promises that an enemy will not win.
Synonyms: ,
- something that has the effect of an express assurance; indication of what may be expected.
- indication of future excellence or achievement:
a writer who shows promise.
- something that is promised.
verb (used with object)
- to engage or undertake by promise (usually used with an infinitive or a clause as object):
She promised to go tomorrow.
Synonyms: , ,
- to make a promise of (some specified act, gift, etc.):
to promise help.
- to make a promise of something to (a specified person):
Promise me that you will come.
- to afford ground for expecting:
The sky promised a storm.
- to engage to join in marriage.
- to assure (used in emphatic declarations):
I won't go there again, I promise you that!
verb (used without object)
- to afford ground for expectation (often followed by well or fair ):
His forthcoming novel promises well.
- to make a promise.
promise
/ ˈɒɪ /
verb
- often foll byto; when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive to give an assurance of (something to someone); undertake (to do something) in the future
I promise that I will come
- tr to undertake to give (something to someone)
he promised me a car for my birthday
- when tr, takes an infinitive to cause one to expect that in the future one is likely (to be or do something)
she promises to be a fine soprano
- usually passive to engage to be married; betroth
I'm promised to Bill
- tr to assure (someone) of the authenticity or inevitability of something (often in the parenthetic phrase I promise you, used to emphasize a statement)
there'll be trouble, I promise you
noun
- an undertaking or assurance given by one person to another agreeing or guaranteeing to do or give something, or not to do or give something, in the future
- indication of forthcoming excellence or goodness
a writer showing considerable promise
- the thing of which an assurance is given
Derived Forms
- ˈdz, noun
Other Word Forms
- dzi·· adjective
- dzi·ڳܱ adjective
- dzi· noun
- dzܳpdzi verb (used with object) outpromised outpromising
- v·dzi verb (used with object) overpromised overpromising
- ·dzi noun verb (used with object) prepromised prepromising
- ܲȴ-dzi adjective
- ·dzi verb repromised repromising
- ܲ·dzi adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of promise1
Word History and Origins
Origin of promise1
Idioms and Phrases
see lick and a promise .Example Sentences
Relations have been so poor between DR Congo and Rwanda that the meeting in Washington and a promise to resolve disputes through dialogue is a sign of progress.
President Biden had promised to support Ukraine "for as long as we can".
As temperatures rise, there's one particular sauce that embodies the brightness, promise and ease of spring-into-summer: pesto.
But it instead feels like an easy escape hatch when what “On Swift Horses” promised was a richer psychological landscape about what roils inside hearts accustomed to hiding.
Virtually all of his promises during the campaign have come up short.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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