satisfy

English Online Dictionary. What means satisfy‎? What does satisfy mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English satisfyen, satisfien, from Old French satisfiier, satisfier (also Old French satisfaire), from Latin satisfacere, from satis (“enough, sufficient”) + faciō (“I make, I do”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/
• Hyphenation: sat‧is‧fy

Verb

satisfy (third-person singular simple present satisfies, present participle satisfying, simple past and past participle satisfied)

1. (ambitransitive) To be enough (for)
   1. (transitive) To meet the needs of, to fulfill the wishes or requirements of (someone).

   2. (transitive) To provide what is wanted or required for (something).
2. (finance, transitive) To pay to the extent of what is claimed or due.

3. (law, transitive) To answer or discharge (a claim, debt, legal demand, etc.); to give compensation for.

4. (mathematics, logic, transitive) To cause (a sentence) to be true when the sentence is interpreted in one's universe.

5. (dated, literary, transitive) To convince by ascertaining; to free from doubt.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “meet needs, fulfill”): disappoint
• dissatisfy
• satisfy oneself

Related terms

• satisfaction
• satisfactory
• satisfice
• satiate
• satiation
• satiety

Translations

Further reading

• “satisfy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “satisfy”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “satisfy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.