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Definition of "promise" []

  • A declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; a vow. (noun)
  • Something promised. (noun)
  • Indication of something favorable to come; expectation: a promise of spring in the air. (noun)
  • Indication of future excellence or success: a player of great promise. (noun)
  • To commit oneself by a promise to do or give; pledge: left but promised to return. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "promise" in a sentence
  • ""Then -- promise, _promise_ me, Constance, as if I were on my dying bed, that you never will.""
  • "When I say "_I_ shall go" (_j'irai_), I merely express an _intention_ or _promise_ to go; but if I continue "_You_ and _they_ shall go," I convey the idea that _my_ intention or promise is operative on _you_ and _them_; and the terms which"
  • "If a man finds out something about his neighbour, and, after he has found it out for himself, the neighbour gets him to promise not to publish it, that is a secret of _promise_."