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promise

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To commit to, or to assure of such commitment.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

prahmuhs

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹɑməs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. ambitransitiveditransitive

    To commit to (some action or outcome), or to assure (a person) of such commitment; to make an oath or vow.

noun

  1. uncountable

    Reason to expect improvement or success; potential.

  2. countable

    An oath or affirmation; a vow.

  3. A verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (ambitransitive, ditransitive) To commit to (some action or outcome), or to assure (a person) of such commitment; to make an oath or vow.

Used this way, promise is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use promise

  • “There is little or no promise that he will recover.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

great promise

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • promised landnounCompound term

    An ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

  • breach of promisenounCompound term

    Failure to keep a promise (of marriage).

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • promissoryadjectiveRelated term

    Relating to or having the character of a promise.

  • promissory notenounRelated term

    A promise to pay a specified amount on demand or at a certain time.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.