satisfy
verb/ˈsætɪsfaɪ/
Etymology From Middle English satisfyen, satisfien, from Old French satisfiier, satisfier (also Old French satisfaire), from Latin satisfacere, from satis (“enough, sufficient”) + faciō (“to make; to do”).
7 senses
- 1To be enough (for)
- 2To meet the needs of, to fulfill the wishes or…
- 3To provide what is wanted or required for (something).
- 4To pay to the extent of what is claimed or due.
- 5To answer or discharge (a claim, debt, legal demand…
- 6To cause (a sentence) to be true when the sentence is…
- 7To convince by ascertaining; to free from doubt.
1
Ambitransitive To be enough (for)
- That brief explanation will never satisfy.
- Death shall […] with us two / Be forced to satisfy his ravenous maw.1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
1 more example
- Now think of all the years you tried to Find someone to satisfy you I might be as crazy as you say If I'm crazy then it's true That it's all because of you And you wouldn't want me any other way1980 March 7, Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”, in Glass Houses:
2
Ambitransitive To meet the needs of, to fulfill the wishes or requirements of (someone).
- The final rehearsal of the day seemed to satisfy the director.
3
Ambitransitive To provide what is wanted or required for (something).
- Even three giant helpings of turkey and ham didn't satisfy her appetite.
5
Law To answer or discharge (a claim, debt, legal demand, etc.); to give compensation for.
- to satisfy a claim or an execution
6
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences To cause (a sentence) to be true when the sentence is interpreted in one's universe.
- The complex numbers satisfy #92;existsx#58;x²#43;1#61;0.
- I was resolved to satisfy myself whether this ragged Elijah was really dogging us or not, and with that intent crossed the way with Queequeg, and on that side of it retraced our steps.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 19, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- The Siamese officer and the Consul having satisfied themselves of the honest intentions of the applicant, will assist him...1856, “Treaty signed April 18, 1855; ratified April 5, 1856”, in Treaty of friendship and commerce between Great Britain and Siam, Bangkok: J. H. Chandler, page 9:
- Synonyms
39 terms
abound, amuse, appease, assuage, captivate, cater, cloy, compensate, conciliate, delight, elate, entertain, exuberate, fascinate, fill, flatter, fulfill, gratify, humor, humour, indulge, measure up, mollify, pacify, placate, please, propitiate, provide, quench, rejoice, sate, satiate, score, serve, slake, suffice, suit, supply, teem- Antonyms
- disappoint, dissatisfy, exhaust, worsen
- Derived terms
- outsatisfy, oversatisfy, presatisfy, resatisfy, satisfiability, satisfiable, satisfy oneself, unsatisfy
- Related terms
- satiate, satiation, satiety, satisfaction, satisfactory, satisfice
- Hyponyms
- glut, gorge, oversatisfy, surfeit