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Glite Dictionary
to hopes plummet

to hopes plummet

7.0
To suddenly feel that a good result is not likely
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : caer en picada las esperanzas
  • Investors' hopes plummeted after the company announced its losses.

Examples

  • As the score worsened, the team's hopes plummeted in the final quarter.

  • Don't let your hopes plummet too soon!

  • When she heard the disappointing news, her hopes plummeted instantly.

  • After the news, my hopes plummet.

  • After hearing the bad news, his hopes plummeted for a successful recovery.

  • The team's hopes plummeted when they lost their star player to injury.

  • As the deadline approached without any updates, her hopes plummeted for a promotion.

Synonyms

to plummet
vsto hopes plummet
93 5.8

Fall suddenly and steeply from a high place or in amount

is about a sudden drop in optimism rather than quantity
to despair
vsto hopes plummet
44 4.1

To lose all hope

is a sudden large loss of expectation rather than a complete giving up
to tumble
vsto hopes plummet
28 4.4

To fall suddenly in price or value

is a sudden loss of expectation rather than an actual defeat
to despond
vsto hopes plummet
1 9.6

To lose hope or confidence

is a sudden big loss of expectation rather than a milder decline
to spirits fall
vsto hopes plummet
5.5

To feel sad or discouraged

is a sudden sharp loss of expectation rather than general mood change
to reach a nadir
vsto hopes plummet
  • Formal
8.2

To fall to the lowest point in a situation, for example in money or confidence

is a sudden loss of expectation rather than a long term lowest point

Antonyms

to get one's hopes up
  • Informal
34 5.6

To become too excited about something that might not happen

Surface Forms

hopes plummet infinitive
hoped plummet past
hoped plummet past participle
hoping plummet present participle
hopes plummets third person singular

Morphology

hope + plummet

The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'hopes' (expectations) + 'plummet' (to fall rapidly) yields 'hopes fall rapidly,' which clearly maps onto a sudden loss of optimism. The verb 'plummet' is a straightforward physical-fall metaphor commonly extended to abstract domains (and found cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Hopes plummet comes from the image of a heavy weight called a plummet that drops straight down. So when someone's hopes 'fall quickly' and far, we say their hopes have plummeted because they suddenly lose hope.