promising
prom·is·ing/ˈpɹɑmɪsɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
promising is spelled P-R-O-M-I-S-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables (prom·is·ing). It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, promising means “Showing promise, and likely to develop in a desirable fashion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in promising?
| Letters | 9: P-R-O-M-I-S-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: prom·is·ing |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is promising?
Promising appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th 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 promising?
- US /ˈpɹɑmɪsɪŋ/
- UK /ˈpɹɒmɪsɪŋ/
Promising has 3 syllables, split prom·is·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-promising.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of promising
- more promising comparative
- most promising superlative
- promisings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does promising mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Showing promise, and likely to develop in a desirable fashion.
a promising young apprentice
- 2
Encouraging and inspiring confidence.
noun
- 1
The act of making a promise.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of promise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Promising in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense showing promise, and likely to develop in a desirable fashion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prometteur |
| German | vielversprechend, erfolgsversprechend |
| Portuguese | promissor |
| Spanish | prometedor, halagüeño, prometiente |
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.