gratify
Americanverb (used with object)
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gratifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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gratified,
past participle, past
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gratifying
present participle
verb
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to satisfy or please
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to yield to or indulge (a desire, whim, etc)
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obsolete to reward
Synonym Usage
See humor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gratifiernoun
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overgratifyverb (used with object)
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pregratifyverb (used with object)
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supergratifyverb (used with object)
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gratifiableadjective
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ungratifiableadjective
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ungratifiedadjective
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well-gratifiedadjective
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gratifiedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gratifysimple
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gratifiessimple
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have gratifiedperfect
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has gratifiedperfect
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am gratifyingprogressive
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are gratifyingprogressive
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is gratifyingprogressive
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have been gratifyingperfect progressive
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has been gratifyingperfect progressive
Past
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gratifiedsimple
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had gratifiedperfect
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was gratifyingprogressive
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were gratifyingprogressive
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had been gratifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gratify
1350–1400; Middle English gratifien < Latin grātificāre, equivalent to grāt ( us ) pleasing + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy
Explanation
To gratify is to satisfy. Bringing home an A in math would gratify your math tutor. Gratify can also mean to give in. You probably shouldn't gratify your urge to scream in class. Gratify comes from the Latin gratificari, "oblige," and gratus, "pleasing." The word still carries those meanings. Gratify always takes an object, so you have to gratify something or someone. Gratifying praise will make you feel good about all the work you put in on your science project. Gratify your thirst for vocabulary by using this word correctly!
Vocabulary lists containing gratify
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Nothing But the Truth
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50 Words from Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice"
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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.
See Examples For:
But it’s the houses that surprise visitors and gratify us, even if they can only be glimpsed from a street or a sidewalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was gratify.
From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
To counteract the grease, you’ll want to home in on the kale-blue cheese slaw or the watermelon-feta-mint salad, a pair of sides that will gratify the palate and settle your conscience.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 5, 2022
Too often, ads are written to gratify sellers rather than bring in buyers, according to Saatchi.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2022
But speculations such as these, though they absorbed Dewey, did not gratify him or give him a sense of “getting somewhere.”
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
This outcome is rare in the contemporary dating scene, but “Heated Rivalry” gratifies the hope that such a future is possible.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
Eating gratifies all the senses: We take in the aroma of a handsome dish, delight at the sound of a sizzling steak or crave the crunch of a crusty baguette.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
“This work is the one that crowns all my hopes and gratifies all my ambitions.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2019
We're not in the same sport exactly, but it's the same milieu, and the fact that tour players know who I am and respect what I do gratifies me to no end.
From Golf Digest ● Nov. 13, 2018
One phase of the subject especially gratifies me: their activities have in no instance despoiled the landscape; rather the contrary.
From Lord Stranleigh Abroad by Robert Barr
Yet many frustrated and alarmed American parents are probably gratified that at least their leaders are finally trying something.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
But he’s also been gratified to see the excitement among younger fans regarding what he views as the Beach Boys’ last great album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
When I asked El-Erian about the Fed, I was gratified to hear him address one of my pet peeves: the dim-bulb types who proudly declare themselves to be data-dependent, full stop.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
Park has been gratified to see just how far his Korean palace cuisine mission has reached.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2025
“As sure as this is my girl!” and Laurie tucked her hand under his arm with the air of a man whose every wish was gratified.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
“I mean, it’s amazing, and it’s really gratifying too. It’s nice to know that you’re doing a business that’s really helping people.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
It’s gratifying to see empty fridges at more hotels so you can store your water, soft drinks and leftovers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Sir Karl, who was born and raised in Penclawdd, Swansea, said it was "gratifying" to be the first living composer to take the top spot.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
Sondheim’s were instead tamed by his art, Okrent suggests, which shaped his “textured, contradictory, troubling, and gratifying life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
By the 1980s, he had developed a solid business that didn't generate a lot of extra money but afforded him a gratifying degree of independence.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
