satisfy

satisfy: satisfy 1 Satisfy, content can both mean to appease desires or longings. The same distinctions in implications are also found in their corresponding adjectives satisfied and content or contented.

Satisfy implies full appeasement not only of a person's desires or longings but also of his needs or requirements

{
walks that satisfy a wish for exer- cise
}

{
he was always ready to satisfy every one of her desires
}

{
the bosses are able to maintain the required tension in their followers and at the same time can satisfy their lust for power in a most gratifying way— Huxley
}

{
Flora was satisfied. She had done what she had hoped to do— Gibbons
}

Content implies appeasement to the point where one is not disquieted or disturbed by a desire for what he does not have, even though every wish is not fully gratified

{
he was content with the world, not because he thought reality good . . . but because he possessed immense imaginative resources with which to evade it— Paulding
}

{
when I was at home, I was in a better place: but travelers must be content—Shak.
}

{
my own garden must content me this year— Quiller-Couch
}

Analogous words: gratify, gladden, *please: appease, *pacify: *satiate, sate

Antonyms: tantalize

2 recompense, compensate, remunerate, repay, *pay, reimburse, indemnify

Analogous words: balance, *compensate, offset

3 Satisfy, fulfill, meet, answer all can mean to measure up to a condition, a need, a claim, a hope, or a requirement. They are seldom interchangeable, however, without loss of precision or expressiveness or without violation of idiom.

Satisfy, with this meaning (compare SATISFY 1), is used chiefly in reference to things or to persons considered impersonally which are submitted to a test (as a condition, a requirement, or a hypothesis) and found to be such in constitution or makeup as not to fall short

{
there is one condition that a lyric ought to satisfy; it ought to pass the test of being read aloud— Binyon
}

{
he will satisfy Newman's famous definition of a gentleman as one who never inflicts pain— Montague
}

Fulfill usually connotes more than adequacy or richness and fullness of measure; also what is fulfilled is not determined by something calculable but usually by something indefinite or immeasurable (as expectations, hopes, desires, or needs)

{
a son seldom fulfills his father's hopes
}

{
the trip fulfilled all the claims made for it
}

{
the objective of our country ... is to achieve human decency to meet human needs and to fulfill human hopes—/!. E. Stevenson
}

Meet implies exact agreement with the test or measure and therefore usually connotes mathematical equivalence; thus, "the new machine meets expectations" is slightly more tempered praise than "the new machine fulfills expectations"

{
we must expand the concept of conservation to meet the imperious problems of the new age— Kennedy
}

{
the grocer could once more meet his running expenses— Malamud
}

Answer usually implies even more moderation in praise than meet; while it does not quite imply dissatisfaction it seldom connotes complete content

{
this knife will answer the purpose
}

{
his school grades answered his parents' expectations
}

{
she could ask herself now ... if any other reasonably attractive man would have answered as well in his place— Glasgow
}

Analogous words: *prove, test, try, demonstrate: verify, substantiate, corroborate, *confirm: *match, equal, rival, approach, touch

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Synonyms:

Please, gratify, content, satiate, sate, fill, suffice, Give satisfaction / Recompense, requite, indemnify, pay, liquidate, compensate, remunerate, Atone, make payment / Pay, discharge, settle, Feed full, supply to the full / Convince, persuade, assure / Fulfil, answer

Look at other dictionaries:

satisfy — sat·is·fy vt fied, fy·ing 1 a: to carry out the terms or obligation of (as by payment of money) refused to satisfy the judgment against her satisfy a condition precedent; broadly: to cause to be discharged, settled, or paid sought to satisfy his… … Law dictionary
Satisfy — Sat is*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Satisfied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Satisfying}.] [OF. satisfier; L. satis enough + ficare (in comp.) to make; cf. F. satisfaire, L. satisfacere. See {Sad}, a., and {Fact}.] 1. In general, to fill up the measure of a want … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
satisfy — [v1] please, content amuse, animate, appease, assuage, befriend, brighten up, captivate, capture, cheer, cloy, comfort, conciliate, delight, do the trick*, elate, enliven, entertain, enthrall, exhilarate, fascinate, fill, fill the bill*, flatter … New thesaurus
satisfy — (v.) early 15c., from M.Fr. satisfier, from O.Fr. satisfaire, from L. satisfacere discharge fully, comply with, make amends, lit. do enough, from satis enough (from PIE root *sa to satisfy; see SAD (Cf. sad)) + facere perform (see … Etymology dictionary
satisfy — [sat′is fī΄] vt. satisfied, satisfying [ME satisfyen < OFr satisfier < L satisfacere < satis, enough (see SAD) + facere, to make (see DO1)] 1. to fulfill the needs, expectations, wishes, or desires of (someone); content; gratify 2. to… … English World dictionary
Satisfy — Sat is*fy, v. i. 1. To give satisfaction; to afford gratification; to leave nothing to be desired. [1913 Webster] 2. To make payment or atonement; to atone. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
satisfy — ► VERB (satisfies, satisfied) 1) meet the expectations, needs, or desires of. 2) fulfil (a desire or need). 3) provide with adequate information about or proof of something. 4) comply with (a condition, obligation, or demand). ORIGIN Latin… … English terms dictionary
satisfy */*/*/ — UK [ˈsætɪsfaɪ] / US [ˈsætɪsˌfaɪ] verb Word forms satisfy : present tense I/you/we/they satisfy he/she/it satisfies present participle satisfying past tense satisfied past participle satisfied 1) a) [transitive] to please someone by giving them… … English dictionary
satisfy — sat|is|fy [ sætıs,faı ] verb ** 1. ) transitive to please someone by giving them something they want or need: an agreement that is unlikely to satisfy environmental campaigners It s impossible to satisfy everyone. a ) intransitive or transitive… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
satisfy — sat|is|fy W2S2 [ˈsætısfaı] v past tense and past participle satisfied present participle satisfying third person singular satisfies [T] [Date: 1400 1500; : Old French; Origin: satisfier, from Latin satisfacere, from satis enough + facere to make… … Dictionary of contemporary English

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

satisfy

Look at other dictionaries:

Share the article and excerpts

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

New Dictionary of Synonyms

satisfy

Look at other dictionaries:

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link