dismay
Other forms: dismayed; dismaying; dismays
If you discover late Sunday night that the dog really did eat your homeworkyou might cry out in dismay. Dismay describes an emotional state of alarmfearor serious disappointment.
The first part of dismay comes from the Latin prefix dis-which comes in handy when you want to put a negative spin on words (dishonestdiscountdisenchantetc.). The last bit of dismay most likely comes from the Germanic word maganmeaning "to be able to." You can employ the word dismay to describe how you feel in a variety of negative situations that you doubt you are able to handle.
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the feeling of despair in the face of obstaclessynonyms: discouragement disheartenmenttypes:intimidationthe feeling of discouragement in the face of someone's superior fame or wealth or status etc.type of:despairthe feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well
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fear resulting from the awareness of dangersynonyms: alarm consternationtype of:fear fearfulness frightan emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
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lower someone's spirits; make downheartedsynonyms: cast down deject demoralise demoralize depress dispirit get downtypes:chilldepress or discouragetype of:discouragedeprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged
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fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
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Vocabulary lists containing dismay
On the SATall of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literaturesciencethe social sciencesor a U.S. founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of viewwords like the 25 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choiceyou’ll know what they mean! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
On the New SATall of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literaturesciencethe social sciencesor a US founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of viewwords like the 200 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choiceyou’ll know what they mean! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test Multiple-Meaning Wordsand Words to Capture Tone.
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