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
Traditionally, dissatisfied Cubans have opted to leave the island for Miami or elsewhere rather than staying and challenging the regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Although the inquiry was public, some families said they were dissatisfied with it as it did not review all patient files.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
