Promise Meaning
/ˈpɹɒmɪs/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn oath or affirmation; a vow.
nounA transaction between two persons whereby the first person undertakes in the future to render some service or gift to the second person or devotes something valuable now and here to his use.
Sentence Examples
The slowest one to make a promise is the most faithful one in keeping it.
You must promise not to take the rope off.
He made a solemn promise to help his friend in need.
CEFR Practice Quiz
I sincerely ____ to help you with your difficult homework tomorrow morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She made a solemn ____ to her dying mother that she would look after her younger siblings.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English promis, promisse, borrowed from Old French promesse, from Medieval Latin prōmissa, Latin prōmissum (“a promise”), feminine and neuter past participles of prōmittō (“to send forth, to say beforehand, to promise”), from pro (“forth”) + mittere (“to send”); see mission. Compare admit, commit, permit, etc. Displaced native ġehātan (“to promise”) and ġehāt (“a promise”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"My native country was full of youthful promise."
— 1819 June 23 – 1820 September 13, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “(please specify the title)”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC:
"The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"You can often use observables instead of promises to deliver values asynchronously."
— 2023 August 25, “Observables compared to other techniques”, in Angular 17 documentation, Google:
"He […] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 1:4:
"Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today."
— 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
I sincerely ____ to help you with your difficult homework tomorrow morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She made a solemn ____ to her dying mother that she would look after her younger siblings.