gratify

American  

[grat-uh-fahy] / ˈgræt əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

gratified, gratifying

1. to give pleasure to (a person or persons) by satisfying desires or humoring inclinations or feelings.

   Her praise will gratify all who worked so hard to earn it.

   Synonyms:

   gladden, delight, please

2. to satisfy; indulge; humor, as one's desires or appetites.

3. Obsolete. to reward; remunerate.

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gratify British  

/ ˈɡrætɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to satisfy or please

2. to yield to or indulge (a desire, whim, etc)

3. obsolete to reward

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Related Words

See humor.

Other Word Forms

• gratifiable adjective
• gratifiedly adverb
• gratifier noun
• overgratify verb (used with object)
• pregratify verb (used with object)
• supergratify verb (used with object)
• ungratifiable adjective
• ungratified adjective
• well-gratified adjective

Etymology

Origin of gratify

1350–1400; Middle English gratifien < Latin grātificāre, equivalent to grāt ( us ) pleasing + -i- -i- + -ficāre -fy

Example Sentences

When the challenges are right in front of you, getting results is far more gratifying than scoring points.

From The Wall Street Journal

But to see its empowering mania catch on with young girls in an era lousy with messages devaluing a woman’s worth is particularly gratifying.

From Salon

“While this decision is not final, it is a gratifying and hard-fought step in the right direction.”

From Los Angeles Times

“You know when a filmmaker’s life is going to change and I think that there’s something just so special about that, something so gratifying to us as the people who first recognize a film.”

From Los Angeles Times

Using songs based on real Shaker hymns, the movie’s most technically ambitious and narratively gratifying scenes depict these vigorous motions as communal expressions of hunger, obedience, grief, devotion and ecstasy.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• delight
• enchant
• please
• thrill