PROMISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does promise mean? 

• PROMISE (noun)
  The noun PROMISE has 2 senses:

1. a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future

2. grounds for feeling hopeful about the future

  Familiarity information: PROMISE used as a noun is rare.

• PROMISE (verb)
  The verb PROMISE has 4 senses:

1. make a promise or commitment

2. promise to undertake or give

3. make a prediction about; tell in advance

4. give grounds for expectations

  Familiarity information: PROMISE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROMISE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("promise" is a kind of...):

commitment; dedication (a message that makes a pledge)

speech act (the use of language to perform some act)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "promise"):

oath (a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior)

parole; word; word of honor (a promise)

betrothal; engagement; troth (a mutual promise to marry)

pinning (a mutual promise of a couple not to date anyone else; on college campuses it was once signaled by the giving of a fraternity pin)

rain check (a promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future)

Derivation:

promise (make a promise or commitment)

promise (promise to undertake or give)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Grounds for feeling hopeful about the future

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

hope; promise

Context example:

there is little or no promise that he will recover

Hypernyms ("promise" is a kind of...):

expectation; outlook; prospect (belief about (or mental picture of) the future)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "promise"):

rainbow (an illusory hope)

Derivation:

promise (promise to undertake or give)

promise (give grounds for expectations)

• PROMISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they promise    ... he / she / it promises   
Past simple: promised   
Past participle: promised   
-ing form: promising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a promise or commitment

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

assure; promise

Hypernyms (to "promise" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "promise"):

pledge; plight (promise solemnly and formally)

swear off (promise to abstain from)

contract; undertake (enter into a contractual arrangement)

guarantee; undertake (promise to do or accomplish)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They promise him to write the letter

Derivation:

promise (a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future)

promisee (a person to whom a promise is made)

promiser; promisor (a person who makes a promise)

promissory (relating to or having the character of a promise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Promise to undertake or give

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

I promise you my best effort

Hypernyms (to "promise" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sentence examples:

They promise the money to them
They promise them the money

Derivation:

promise (grounds for feeling hopeful about the future)

promise (a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future)

promisee (a person to whom a promise is made)

promisor (a person who makes a promise)

promissory (relating to or having the character of a promise)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a prediction about; tell in advance

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

anticipate; call; forebode; foretell; predict; prognosticate; promise

Context example:

Call the outcome of an election

Hypernyms (to "promise" is one way to...):

guess; hazard; pretend; venture (put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "promise"):

read (interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior)

outguess; second-guess (attempt to anticipate or predict)

augur (predict from an omen)

bet; wager (maintain with or as if with a bet)

calculate; forecast (predict in advance)

prophesy; vaticinate (predict or reveal through, or as if through, divine inspiration)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 4

Meaning:

Give grounds for expectations

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The results promised fame and glory

Hypernyms (to "promise" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

promise (grounds for feeling hopeful about the future)

 Context examples 

"And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The succeeding morning promised something better.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

I promise time for love and fun is coming, so be patient.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I assure you that your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has come my way for some months.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Come, Laurie, promise, and give me one more reason to call this the happiest day of my life.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The king still would not give him the promised reward, and made a third demand.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I am not here to make any promise, or give any pledge to anybody.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

These were to be given to the Indian, and he was promised twice as much if he returned with the ropes.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The researchers conclude that these broadly neutralizing antibodies are promising candidates for further development as therapeutic molecules against several ebolavirus species.

(Broadly acting antibodies found in plasma of Ebola survivors, National Institutes of Health)

I see walls of great promise.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)