/ dɪsˈmeɪ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
[ U ] a worried, sad feeling after you have received an unpleasant surprise :
She could not hide her dismay at the result.
He looked at her in dismay .
To her dismay , her name was not on the list.
The news has been greeted with dismay by local business leaders.
■ verb
[ vn ] to make sb feel shocked and disappointed :
Their reaction dismayed him.
► dis·mayed adjective dismayed (at / by sth) | dismayed to find, hear, see, etc. :
He was dismayed at the change in his old friend.
The suggestion was greeted by a dismayed silence.
They were dismayed to find that the ferry had already left.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French , based on Latin dis- (expressing negation) + the Germanic base of the verb may .