satisfaction

American  

[sat-is-fak-shuhn] / ˌsæt ɪsˈfæk ʃən /

noun

1. an act of satisfying; fulfillment; gratification.

2. the state of being satisfied; contentment.

   Synonyms:

   enjoyment, comfort, pleasure

   Antonyms:

   discontent, displeasure

3. the cause or means of being satisfied.

4. confident acceptance of something as satisfactory, dependable, true, etc.

5. reparation or compensation, as for a wrong or injury.

   Synonyms:

   recompense, requital, indemnification, indemnity, atonement, expiation, amends

6. the opportunity to redress or right a wrong, as by a duel.

7. payment or discharge, as of a debt or obligation.

   Synonyms:

   remuneration, repayment

8. Ecclesiastical.

   1. an act of doing penance or making reparation for venial sin.

   2. the penance or reparation made.

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satisfaction British  

/ ˌsætɪsˈfækʃən /

noun

1. the act of satisfying or state of being satisfied

2. the fulfilment of a desire

3. the pleasure obtained from such fulfilment

4. a source of fulfilment

5. reparation or compensation for a wrong done or received

6. RC Church Church of England the performance by a repentant sinner of a penance

7. Christianity the atonement for sin by the death of Christ

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Other Word Forms

• nonsatisfaction
  noun
• presatisfaction
  noun
• supersatisfaction
  noun
• undersatisfaction
  noun
• satisfactional
  adjective
• satisfactionless
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of satisfaction

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin satisfactiōn-, stem of satisfactiō “amends, excuse, penalty,” from satisfact(us) “compensated, sufficed” (past participle of satisfacere “to do enough, apologize, compensate,” from satis “enough” + facere “to do, make”) + -iō -ion; replacing Middle English satisfaccioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above; cf. fact, satiate

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Explanation

Satisfaction is the act of fulfilling a need, desire, or appetite, or the feeling gained from such fulfillment. Satisfaction means you’ve had enough — in a good way. When a product says "Satisfaction guaranteed" it means you’ll like it or they'll give you your money back. A good meal provides satisfaction of your hunger. When you graduate from school or get a good job, you have a feeling of satisfaction. This term once meant an act of atonement assigned by a priest to make up for a sin. When something is explained well, it was explained to your satisfaction.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

satisfaction

"Practically all the planes are on the ground," he said with satisfaction.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I need high customer satisfaction to retain this highly sought-after talent, and this is part of how I get it,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

I recently watched with smug satisfaction as OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model hunted through spreadsheets to reconcile an uncooperative credit card statement and then navigated QuickBooks to make sure it was reflected in the right places.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Volunteering, obviously, you get tremendous satisfaction that you are doing a good job and you are there to help people that are in distress," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

I bite my lip so I won’t give him the satisfaction of laughing.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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Related Words

• achievement
• amusement
• comfort
• contentment
• delight
• enjoyment
• fulfillment
• gratification
• happiness
• joy
• peace of mind
• pleasure
• pride
• relief
• vindication
• well-being

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