dissatisfied
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dissatisfied
First recorded in 1665–75; dissatisfy + -ed 2
Explanation
If you're dissatisfied, you're not happy — you're annoyed and disgruntled. You probably don't enjoy eating out with your parents if they're always dissatisfied with the food they order. You might be dissatisfied with the final episode of your favorite TV show, or dissatisfied with your grades n German last semester. In either case, you're not pleased. A slightly different way to be dissatisfied is to be unconvinced: "She was dissatisfied with the answer he gave when she asked when he planned to pay back the money he owed her." Dissatisfied combines dis-, "not," and satisfied, from a Latin root, satisfacere, "do enough."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an effort to persuade voters who are dissatisfied with the status quo, Hilton bought a full-page ad in the Wednesday editions of the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
It would also make the justices safer in the long run from a public increasingly dissatisfied with their arbitrary secrecy.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
"They told me they are really dissatisfied with all the existing political parties, because nobody listens to them," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Yet the British, like Americans, remain deeply dissatisfied with the economy, inflation and incomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
“They say man lived in trees one time. Somebody had to get dissatisfied with a high limb or your feet would not be touching flat ground now.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
