dismay

views updated Jun 11 2018

dis·may / disˈmā/ • v. [tr.] (usu. be dismayed) cause (someone) to feel consternation and distress: they were dismayed by the U-turn in policy.• n. consternation and distress, typically that caused by something unexpected: to his dismay, she left him.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

dismay

views updated May 29 2018

dismay vb. XIII. — OF. *de(s)maier :- Rom. *dismagāre deprive of power, f. L. DIS- 2 + Gmc. *maʒ- be able, MAY 1.
Hence sb. XIV.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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