Word of the Day: Satisfy
To satisfy someone is to meet that person’s expectations. A company, a product, or another person tries to make you feel happy; however, in some cases, to be satisfied is to feel something less than happiness. Instead, it’s a feeling of contentment. Everything is okay or just okay.
- These sandwiches should satisfy our guests for now, but we’ll have to bring out more food soon.
- The apology didn’t satisfy the angry customer, so she walked out of the store vowing never to return.
- Their products weren’t satisfying our needs, so we went with a different manufacturer.
- Do you think this work will satisfy our boss?
- Both sides are satisfied with the agreement.
- This solution satisfies everyone concerned.
The words “satisfied,” “satisfying,” and “satisfactory” are adjectives:
- That wasn’t a satisfactory solution.
- Everyone said the experience was satisfying.
- The satisfied customers left the restaurant and walked slowly to their cars.
- Do you feel satisfied?
- They don’t feel satisfied. They want their money back.
- Are you satisfied? (Sometimes a question like this is asked of a person who makes a big mistake. The question is tinged with a bit of sarcasm or anger)
The word “satisfaction” is a noun:
- Your total satisfaction with our products is important to us.
- The hotel guaranteed the guests’ satisfaction.
- The man couldn’t get any sort of satisfaction from the criminal justice system, so he took matters into his own hands and decided to buy a gun.
Cultural note: “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” is a very popular rock’n’roll song by the Rolling Stones. It was released in the 1960s, but it remains very popular to this day. Notice the use of the double negative: can’t get no. To be grammatically correct, the title of the song should be “I Can’t Get Any Satisfaction,” but good grammar doesn’t matter much when art and music are concerned.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with S page to see the list of all words starting with letter S. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
