gratify

American  

[grat-uh-fahy] / ˈgræt əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

• gratifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• gratified,
  past participle,  past
• gratifying
  present participle

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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Synonym Usage

See humor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• gratifying
  present
• gratified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• gratify
  simple
• gratifies
  simple
• have gratified
  perfect
• has gratified
  perfect
• am gratifying
  progressive
• are gratifying
  progressive
• is gratifying
  progressive
• have been gratifying
  perfect progressive
• has been gratifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• gratified
  simple
• had gratified
  perfect
• was gratifying
  progressive
• were gratifying
  progressive
• had been gratifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will gratify
  simple
• will have gratified
  perfect
• will be gratifying
  progressive
• will have been gratifying
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of gratify

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

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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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gratify gratifies gratified gratifying

Does the work you do now gratify you any differently than it did when you were starting out?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025

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 that's not saying much, most of them neutered themselves by kowtowing to him from the get-go in order to gratify their personal desires and enrich themselves.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2018

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

He renamed the site Hacker News, and expanded its focus to include “anything that good hackers would find interesting . . . anything that gratifies one’s intellectual curiosity.”

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 8, 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

If he gratifies his ego by smashing balls with his driver, Day has gotten better by putting in the work around the greens.

From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2016

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

But they can’t see what I remember when I hold it: cymbals timed correctly during the performance, a gratified nod from the conductor after weeks of botching it in rehearsal.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Conservatives in the Western Hemisphere have been gratified by the center-right sweep in Latin American presidential elections since 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

“We’re gratified that our race attracts large spectator crowds, and we will review how future issues of this kind can be avoided,” the statement read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 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

Her inability to grasp what I had done or was trying to do somehow gratified me.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

It should have been a precursor to a gratifying final bill, one notable for its unusual juxtaposition: Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations followed by Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

And yet, what reaction is more gratifying than residents of all stripes stepping outside to do something about it?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Their debut there, before the conductor officially assumed the music directorship, was a lively and gratifying pops event in January.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

“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

For Smith, the trip to Maryland was gratifying.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

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Related Words

• delight
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• please
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