INDEX:
1. when you think something is good enough
2. when you have what you want in your life, your job etc
3. making you feel satisfied
4. the feeling that you have when you are satisfied
5. to make someone feel satisfied
6. not satisfied
7. desires or needs that are never satisfied
RELATED WORDS
self-satisfied : ↑ PROUD (2)
see also
↑ GOOD ENOUGH
↑ HAPPY
↑ LIKE
↑ COMPLAIN
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1. when you think something is good enough
▷ satisfied /ˈsætɪsfaɪd, ˈsætəsfaɪd/ [adjective]
the way you feel when you think that something is as good as it should be, for example someone’s work or something you buy :
▪ I did the whole essay again, but she still wasn’t satisfied.
▪ Sussman puffed on his pipe, a satisfied grin on his face.
satisfied with
▪ His boss seems satisfied with his work.
▪ 95% of passengers say they are satisfied with the bus service.
satisfied that
▪ Patients seemed satisfied that the standard of care was adequate.
satisfied customer
▪ A good travel agent knows that a satisfied customer will always come back.
▷ happy /ˈhæpi/ [adjective not before noun] informal
satisfied with what you have achieved :
▪ Pinker stated that he was perfectly happy with the arrangement.
happy with
▪ Doctors said they were happy with how the operation had gone.
happy about
▪ I’d gotten a lot done over the weekend and was happy about that.
▷ pleased /pliːzd/ [adjective not before noun] especially British
the way you feel when you think something is very good and you feel very satisfied with it :
▪ Were you pleased when you saw the results?
pleased with
▪ Tom’s teacher was pleased with his progress.
▪ ‘How’s your new car?’ ‘It’s great - I’m really pleased with it.’
▷ find/consider something satisfactory /ˌfaɪnd, kənˌsɪdəʳ something ˌsætə̇sˈfækt ə ri/ [verb phrase]
to think something is good enough because it is of a high enough standard or it gives you what you need :
▪ A decision was made that both sides found satisfactory.
▪ The new rules will not affect schools that parents consider satisfactory.
2. when you have what you want in your life, your job etc
▷ satisfied also happy informal /ˈsætɪsfaɪd, ˈsætəsfaɪd, ˈhæpi/ [adjective not usually before noun]
happy because you have what you want :
▪ Delia won’t be happy until she’s earning more than her husband.
▪ Bowman said he had been perfectly happy in his role as director, before the change in job specifications.
satisfied with
▪ I don’t really want a bigger house - I’m satisfied with what I’ve got.
▪ I’d be happy with a part-time job, as long as the wages were ok.
satisfied to do something
▪ My kids are perfectly happy to watch the same videos over and over again.
▷ content /kənˈtent/ [adjective not before noun]
satisfied with everything in a situation, so that you do not want to change anything or ask for anything more :
▪ The baby sat on its mother’s lap, perfectly content.
content to do something
▪ At the moment my mother seems content to take things slowly.
▪ He rarely talked about his own work, and was content to listen to the experiences of others.
content with
▪ He was a strong, vital man, successful and content with his life.
▷ fulfilled /fʊlˈfɪld/ [adjective not usually before noun]
satisfied because you feel that your life or your work is interesting, useful, and important :
▪ I think if I could write a song that I knew was good, not necessarily a big hit, I would feel fulfilled.
▪ A young married woman, supposedly fulfilled by husband and children, confessed the emptiness of her life.
3. making you feel satisfied
▷ satisfying /ˈsætɪsfaɪ-ɪŋ, ˈsætəsfaɪ-ɪŋ/ [adjective]
a job, activity, or experience that is satisfying makes you feel satisfied, because you enjoy doing it and the results are often very good :
▪ There’s something very satisfying about baking your own bread.
▪ Working with children with special needs can be a satisfying and rewarding experience.
▷ fulfilling /fʊlˈfɪlɪŋ/ [adjective]
something that is fulfilling, such as a job or way of life, makes you feel satisfied and happy, because you are using your abilities in a useful way :
▪ Pruitt says that for him, fatherhood is creative and fulfilling.
▪ Many older people who have no fulfilling personal relationships lavish their affection on pets.
▷ rewarding /rɪˈwɔːʳdɪŋ/ [adjective]
a job or activity that is rewarding is satisfying, because you feel you are doing something useful for yourself or for other people :
▪ Nursing is a very rewarding job.
▪ The literature course has been hard work, but very rewarding.
▪ By planning for retirement, you can make it a happy and rewarding time of your life.
4. the feeling that you have when you are satisfied
▷ satisfaction /ˌsætɪsˈfækʃ ə n, ˌsætəsˈfækʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling of being satisfied, especially because you have achieved something good or useful :
▪ Most teachers take great pride and satisfaction in their work, and enjoy working with young people.
with satisfaction
▪ She finished her letter, and read it through with satisfaction.
get satisfaction from something
▪ He enjoys coaching the hockey team, and gets a lot of satisfaction from it.
satisfaction with
▪ Warner’s pay increase reflected his boss’s satisfaction with his work.
job satisfaction
satisfaction that you get from doing your job
▪ The pay is pretty good, but you don’t get much job satisfaction.
▷ fulfilment British /fulfillment American /fʊlˈfɪlmənt/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of being satisfied and happy with your life :
▪ For many kids, music can be a way toward self-expression and fulfillment.
▪ Seeing my work come to fruition gives me a strong sense of fulfilment.
find fulfilment (in something)
▪ Some women do find fulfillment in being a mother, but it is wrong to assume that this is so for all women.
seek fulfilment
try to find it
▪ Thomas sought fulfilment in the religious life.
▷ contentment /kənˈtentmənt/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling of being happy and satisfied because you have what you want or need, and do not want anything more :
▪ Mitchell gave up his job, and says he found peace and contentment in living close to the land.
▪ I look for smiles and expressions of contentment in people’s faces as I pass, but I don’t see them very often.
5. to make someone feel satisfied
▷ satisfy /ˈsætɪsfaɪ, ˈsætəsfaɪ/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to make someone feel satisfied by being or giving them what they want or need :
▪ I tried on dozens of wedding dresses before I found one that satisfied me.
▪ A compromise was eventually reached, but even this failed to satisfy environmentalists.
▷ keep somebody satisfied/happy /ˌkiːp somebody ˈsætə̇sfaɪd, ˈhæpi/ [verb phrase]
to make someone continue to feel satisfied with a situation or arrangement :
▪ A company can only be successful as long as it keeps its customers satisfied.
▪ Part of your job is to keep our clients happy.
▪ Politicians pass legislation to keep their constituents happy.
▷ fulfil British /fulfill American /fʊlˈfɪl/ [transitive verb]
to give someone what they want or need :
▪ You must give more detailed answers if you are to fulfil the examiner’s expectations.
▪ Schools should fulfill the needs of poorer children, giving them a chance in society.
▷ do something to somebody’s satisfaction /duː something tə somebodyˈs ˌsætə̇sˈfækʃ ə n/ [verb phrase] formal
if you do something to someone’s satisfaction, you do it in a way that is good enough and is what they want or need :
▪ Kang has made most of the repairs to our satisfaction.
▪ I hope this will settle the matter to your satisfaction.
6. not satisfied
▷ not satisfied also dissatisfied formal /nɒt ˈsætə̇sfaɪd, dɪˈsætə̇sfaɪd/ [adjective]
the way you feel when something is not as good as you want or expect it to be :
▪ We’ve offered to install brand new machines free of charge, but the company is still not satisfied.
▪ The store issues refunds to dissatisfied customers.
not satisfied with
▪ The teacher told James she wasn’t satisfied with his work.
▪ Employees of the company are increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs.
not fully satisfied
▪ If you are not fully satisfied with this product, your money will be refunded.
deeply dissatisfied
very dissatisfied
▪ Most rail-users were deeply dissatisfied with the sort of service they were getting.
dissatisfaction /dɪˌsætɪsˈfækj ə n, dɪˌsætəsˈfækj ə n, dɪsˌsæ-/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Baker’s increasing dissatisfaction with his role in the party led him to resign.
▷ not be happy/be unhappy /nɒt biː ˈhæpi, biː ʌnˈhæpi/ [adjective not before noun]
to feel annoyed and disappointed with something, because it has not been done well enough or you have not achieved what you wanted :
not be happy/be unhappy about
▪ If you decide you’re not happy about the way the dress fits, we’ll alter it for you.
▪ Wilkins was unhappy about being left off the U.S. Olympic team.
not be happy/be unhappy with
▪ Fans are not happy with the team’s performance.
▪ Employees were generally unhappy with their promotion prospects.
▷ be fed up /biː ˌfed ˈʌp/ [verb phrase] British informal
to be unhappy because you do not like the situation that you are in and you wish it would change :
▪ It rained every day of our holiday. We were thoroughly fed up.
be fed up with
▪ I’m fed up with this job. It’s so boring.
▪ Tom’s getting pretty fed up with married life. He never goes out any more.
▷ displeased /dɪsˈpliːzd/ [adjective not before noun] formal
not satisfied and a little annoyed about the way something has been done :
▪ Sarah seemed displeased but did not say anything to me.
▪ Bonner was displeased by Neeman’s remarks.
displeased about
▪ Several readers were displeased about the photos that accompanied the story.
displeased with
▪ Singer was displeased with Barbra Streisand’s adaptation of his story ‘Yentl.’
▷ not content also discontented formal /nɒt kənˈtent, ˌdɪskənˈtentə̇d/ [adjective]
not satisfied or happy because you want something better than what you have now :
▪ Discontented workers joined the protests.
not content with
▪ Farmers were discontented with economic reforms that did not improve their businesses.
▪ Marshall was not content with the draft of the contract.
discontent [uncountable noun]
▪ There have been demonstrations and other signs of discontent.
▷ disgruntled /dɪsˈgrʌntld/ [adjective]
not satisfied and slightly angry, especially because you feel you have been treated badly or unfairly :
▪ It was the second pay cut in two years, and employees were becoming disgruntled.
▪ After long delays, disgruntled passengers were taken to a nearby hotel.
7. desires or needs that are never satisfied
▷ insatiable /ɪnˈseɪʃəb ə l/ [adjective]
an insatiable need, desire, demand etc is so strong that it never can be satisfied :
▪ His curiosity about the natural world is insatiable.
▪ She had an insatiable thirst for attention.
▪ Humankind seems to have an insatiable urge to conquer and explore.