dismay
/dɪsˈmeɪ/verb, noun
dismay is spelled D-I-S-M-A-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, dismay means “To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dismay?
| Letters | 6: D-I-S-M-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dismay?
Dismay appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dismay?
- /dɪsˈmeɪ/
Dismay has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dismay.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dismay
- dismays present, singular, he/she/it
- dismaying participle, present
- dismayed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dismay mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or fear; to deprive of energy.
- 2
To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
- 3
To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.
noun
- 1
A sudden or complete loss of courage and firmness in the face of trouble or danger; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits
He looked in dismay at the destruction of the town caused by the hurricane.
- 2
Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dismay in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | affliger , mortifier , avoir peur , désarroi, consternation |
| Portuguese | assombrar , espanto |
| German | Furcht, Ohnmacht |
| Spanish | espanto, estupefacción, consternación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dismay come from?
From Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman *desmaiier, alteration of Old French esmaier (“to frighten”), probably from Vulgar Latin *exmagare (“to deprive (someone) of strength, to disable”), from ex- + *magare (“to enable, empower”), from Proto-Germanic *maginą, *maganą (“might, power”), from Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able”). Akin to Old High German magan, megin (“power, might, main”), Old English mæġen (“might, main”), Old High German magan, mugan (“to be powerful, able”), Old English magan (“to be able”). Cognate with Portuguese desmaiar (“to faint”) and Spanish esmayar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).