I. də̄ˈs]mā sometimes də̇zˈ] verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English dismayen, from (assumed) Old French desmaiier (whence Spanish desmayar to dishearten, depress), from Old French des- dis- (I) + -maiier (as in esmaiier to dismay, fr — assumed — Vulgar Latin exmagare, from Latin ex out of, from + a word stem of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German magan to be able) — more at ex- , may
transitive verb
1.
a. : to take away the courage or resolution of with alarm or fear : daunt
shocked and dismayed … by the condescension and contempt to be found at every turn — H.J.Morgenthau
b. : to check suddenly the enthusiasm of : disillusion , disenchant
the boy was dismayed to see his idol drunk and in disarray
c. : upset , perturb , alarm
the naïve scientific belief that the whole is nothing but its parts which so dismayed and irritated Goethe — Philip Toynbee
2. : to put to rout : subdue
intransitive verb
obsolete : to become daunted, disheartened, or terrified
Synonyms:
appall , horrify , daunt : dismay indicates disconcerting, disabling, unnerving, or depriving of morale and initiative through blended fear, dread, perplexity, or discouragement
who in one lifetime sees all causes lost, herself dismayed and helpless — Muriel Rukeyser
an opponent that more than once puzzled Roosevelt, and in the end flatly dismayed him — H.L.Mencken
appall suggests striking with overwhelming dread or with powerlessness before the monstrous, enormous, or shocking
appalled by the magnitude of the tragedy — C.G.Bowers
the ruffians were so utterly appalled, not only by the false powers of magic, but by veritable powers of majesty and eloquence, that they let her do what she would — Charles Kingsley
the immense modern Cosmos in which we live — the great Creation of granite, planned in such immeasurable proportions, and moved by so pitiless a mechanism, that it sometimes appalls even its own creators — L.P.Smith
horrify indicates striking with horror at the ghastly or gruesome or revulsion at the hideously offensive; weakened, it is a synonym for shock
to developed sensibilities the facts of war are revolting and horrifying — Aldous Huxley
she horrified London society by pouring hot tea on a gentleman who displeased her — American Guide Series: Virginia
Massachusetts owners, horrified by the loss of profits — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
daunt indicates a cowing, subduing, disheartening, or frightening in a venture requiring courage
no adventure daunted her and risks stimulated her — Havelock Ellis
the attempt to draw the future frontiers of Europe is a daunting and ticklish enterprise — Times Literary Supplement
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : sudden loss of courage or resolution by reason of alarm or fear : consternation
facing with dismay a force too powerful to resist
b. : sudden loss of enthusiasm for something : disillusionment , disenchantment
c. : perturbation , alarm
views with dismay the fact that one of his sons may choose to become a composer — Huntington Hartford
2. obsolete : a condition or a result that dismays : destruction , ruin
Synonyms: see fear