My vocabulary lesson of the weekend...

See, for the last 20-some years (my entire life), I have been under the impression that the word "disappoint" meant to fail to meet the expectations of another. This weekend, I learned that I was wrong. You see, it also means to fail to meet the hopes of another.

ILLUSTRATION:
Your boyfriend, after weeks of being so completely stressed out that he has done absolutely zip for you, promises you an "evening to make up it". You discuss that given how much you've been doing for him lately as compared to how non-existent his reciprocation has been, that this "make-up date" needs to really be something. The date to end all dates, if you will.

Now, you're HOPING that he will come through, but you also know that so far as what you have experienced in the relationship so far, the height of his romanticism is... well, a little lacking. You EXPECT him to fall short of anything truly spectacular, landing somewhere closer to average... though you HOPE he will surprise you.

See, in that situation, I thought, "How could I possibly be disappointed when I KNOW he's not going to do anything spectacular?"

But, not surprisingly, I was disappointed, and this morning I confirmed on Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary that "disappointed" was, in fact, the appropriate word to describe my feelings because although he did not fail to meet my expectations, he SO failed to meet my hopes.