Learning / English Dictionary

SATISFY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: satisfied   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fill, satisfy or meet a want or need or condtion ro restriction

Example:

meet a need

Synonyms:

conform to; fill; fit; fulfil; fulfill; meet; satisfy

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "satisfy" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "satisfy"):

answer (be satisfactory for; meet the requirements of or serve the purpose of)

appease; quell; stay (overcome or allay)

content (satisfy in a limited way)

feed on; feed upon (be sustained by)

allay; assuage; quench; slake (satisfy (thirst))

fill the bill; fit the bill (be what is needed or be good enough for what is required)

fulfil; fulfill; live up to; satisfy (meet the requirements or expectations of)

accommodate; fit; suit (be agreeable or acceptable to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

satisfaction (act of fulfilling a desire or need or appetite)

satisfactory (meeting requirements)

satisfactory (giving satisfaction)

satisfier (any agent capable of producing satisfaction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make happy or satisfied

Synonyms:

gratify; satisfy

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "satisfy"):

delight; please (give pleasure to or be pleasing to)

please (give satisfaction)

content (make content)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to satisfy Sue

Antonym:

dissatisfy (fail to satisfy)

Derivation:

satisfier (any agent capable of producing satisfaction)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Meet the requirements or expectations of

Synonyms:

fulfil; fulfill; live up to; satisfy

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "satisfy" is one way to...):

conform to; fill; fit; fulfil; fulfill; meet; satisfy (fill, satisfy or meet a want or need or condtion ro restriction)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "satisfy"):

answer; do; serve; suffice (be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity)

cover (provide for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

fall short of (fail to satisfy, as of expectations, for example)

Derivation:

satisfaction (act of fulfilling a desire or need or appetite)

satisfactory (meeting requirements)

satisfactory (giving satisfaction)

satisfier (any agent capable of producing satisfaction)

Credits

 Context examples: 

‘But I was not satisfied, and the attempts which he made to draw me away increased my suspicions.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Oh, Mother, if I'm ever half as good as you, I shall be satisfied," cried Jo, much touched.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

If his sweet-tempered wife could have got up any self-assertion against anyone, I am satisfied it could only have been because she was the Beauty's sister.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

My little servant, after helping me to clean my house, was gone, well satisfied with the fee of a penny for her aid.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He was not satisfied, and he continued to smell the air, striving to understand the message borne upon it to him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"That does not satisfy me in the least. I want my arms round you, and your head on my breast, and—oh, Gladys, I want—"

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In speaking of the Harvilles, he seemed unable to satisfy his own sense of their kindness, especially of Mrs Harville's exertions as a nurse.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

But Marianne, who saw his agitation, and could easily trace it to whatever cause best pleased herself, was perfectly satisfied, and soon talked of something else.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

A question about whether an individual feels or felt that life in general is less satisfying.

(Feel Life in General was Less Satisfying, NCI Thesaurus)

Satisfy the requirements or expectations of.

(Fulfill, NCI Thesaurus)