to show or direct attention to something by extending your finger or another object
The teacher pointed at the map to show the country.
Look, the baby is pointing at the airplane in the sky.
to aim something such as a camera, gun, or light toward a target or direction
She pointed the camera at the sunset.
Don’t point the flashlight in my eyes!
to face or be directed toward a particular direction
The compass needle always points north.
All the chairs point toward the stage.
to choose someone officially for a job or position of responsibility
The board of directors appointed Maria as the new CEO.
The president appointed a panel of experts to investigate the issue.
✦ Middle English apointen, from Old French apointer ‘arrange, settle’, from a point ‘to a point’.
to decide on a time or place for something to happen
The ceremony was appointed for ten o’clock exactly.
The lawyer requested that a new date be appointed for the hearing.
✦ Same historical root as sense 1, with a specialized meaning of ‘assign to a specific time or place’.
Past tense and past participle of disappoint.
The sudden storm disappointed the hikers who hoped for clear skies.
Her careless comment deeply disappointed her friend.
in a way that causes disappointment or fails to meet expectations.
The ending of the story was disappointingly predictable.
He played disappointingly in the big game.
✦ Formed by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to the adjective disappointing, which derives from the verb disappoint meaning 'to fail to meet expectations.' Disappoint comes from French desappointer, 'to dispossess or remove from office.'
to make someone feel sad and unhappy by not doing something that they hoped or expected you to do
The rainy weather disappointed everyone at the outdoor party.
'Please don't disappoint me again,' the teacher said to the student.
✦ From late Middle English, alteration of French desappointer ‘to dispossess of an appointed position,’ from des- ‘reversal’ + apointer ‘to appoint,’ from Latin ad ‘to’ + punctum ‘point.’
