promise

/ˈprɑməs/

/ˈprɒmɪs/

Other forms: promised; promises; promising

A promise is an agreement to do or not do something. Also, when you have potential, you show promise.

If your parents say you can go for ice cream and then it doesn't happen, you'll probably say, "But you promised!" People promise small things, like to visit someone, and big things, like marriage: “Til death do us part” is a promise many people make on their wedding day. Another meaning is to make a prediction, as in, "You'll regret this, I promise!” Also, if you show promise playing the violin, maybe someday you'll play in an orchestra.

Definitions of promise

1. noun

   a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future
   types:

   oath

   a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior

   parole, word, word of honor

   a promise

   betrothal, engagement, troth

   a mutual promise to marry

   pinning

   a mutual promise of a couple not to date anyone else; on college campuses it was once signaled by the giving of a fraternity pin

   rain check

   a promise that an unaccepted offer will be renewed in the future

   bayat

   an oath of allegiance to an emir

   ringing

   the giving of a ring as a token of engagement

   type of:

   commitment, dedication

   a message that makes a pledge

   speech act

   the use of language to perform some act
2. noun

   grounds for feeling hopeful about the future
   “there is little or no promise that he will recover”

   synonyms: hope

   types:

   rainbow

   an illusory hope

   type of:

   expectation, outlook, prospect

   belief about (or mental picture of) the future
3. verb

   make a promise or commitment
   synonyms: assure

   types:

   pledge, plight

   promise solemnly and formally

   swear off

   promise to abstain from

   contract, undertake

   enter into a contractual arrangement

   guarantee, undertake

   promise to do or accomplish

   vow

   make a vow; promise

   stipulate

   make an oral contract or agreement in the verbal form of question and answer that is necessary to give it legal force

   sign

   be engaged by a written agreement

   subvent, subvention, underwrite

   guarantee financial support of

   guarantee, vouch

   give surety or assume responsibility

   condition, qualify, specify, stipulate

   specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement

   covenant

   enter into a covenant or formal agreement

   lease, rent

   let for money

   charter, hire, lease, rent

   hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services

   covenant

   enter into a covenant

   type of:

   declare

   state emphatically and authoritatively
4. verb

   promise to undertake or give
   “I promise you my best effort”

   type of:

   declare

   state emphatically and authoritatively
5. verb

   give grounds for expectations
   “The new results were promising”

   “The results promised fame and glory”

   type of:

   be

   have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
6. verb

   make a prediction about; tell in advance
   synonyms: anticipate, call, forebode, foretell, predict, prognosticate

   types:

   read

   interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior

   outguess, second-guess

   attempt to anticipate or predict

   augur

   predict from an omen

   bet, wager

   maintain with or as if with a bet

   calculate, forecast, project

   predict in advance

   prophesy, vaticinate

   predict or reveal through, or as if through, divine inspiration

   scry

   divine by gazing into crystals

   vaticinate

   foretell through or as if through the power of prophecy

   enlighten, irradiate

   give spiritual insight to; in religion

   type of:

   guess, hazard, pretend, venture

   put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation