promising

adjective

prom·​is·​ing ˈprä-mə-siŋ 

: full of promise : likely to succeed or to yield good results

a promising new medicine

promisingly adverb

Synonyms of promising

• bright
• optimistic
• hopeful
• encouraging
• likely

Examples of promising in a Sentence

The neighborhood didn't look very promising.

a promising writer who just may write the great American novel someday

Recent Examples on the Web

Coffee is one of the most promising sectors for economic development in Yemen, where more than 80% of the population lives in poverty, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. —ABC News, 2 May 2026

Changing the body’s response to chronic disease Some of the most promising technologies for longevity will need to be prescribed, not bought. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 2 May 2026

This approach could reduce risk and improve efficiency by guiding missions to the most promising sites. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 May 2026

Most notably, the potential for injectable, self-locking filaments offers a promising solution for biomedical needs. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for promising

• unpromising

Kids Definition

promising

adjective

prom·​is·​ing

ˈpräm-ə-siŋ

: likely to turn out well

a promising student

promisingly

-siŋ-lē

adverb