Language tip of the week: to disappoint someone

In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips to accompany the Real Vocabulary theme we look at how you can expand your vocabulary in English by using different words and expressions instead of core vocabulary items.

This set of language tips will explore different ways to talk about emotions. This week’s tip looks at words and phrases that mean to make someone feel disappointed:

disappoint someone to make someone feel unhappy because something they hoped for or expected did not happen or because someone or something was not as good as they expected:
This is the third film of his that has disappointed me. ♦ I am sorry to disappoint you but we have decided not to proceed with the sale.
be a (big) disappointment to disappoint someone, usually by not being as good as they had hoped or expected:
After all the hype, the show was a big disappointment. ♦ He feels he has been a terrible disappointment to his family.
let someone down to make someone disappointed by not doing something they are expecting you to do or something you promised to do:
I knew I would be late but I couldn’t let them down. ♦ The families of the victims feel the justice system has let them down completely.