sate
1 Americanverb
verb
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to satisfy (a desire or appetite) fully
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to supply beyond capacity or desire
verb
Etymology
Origin of sate
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of obsolete sade “to satiate,” Old English sadian (akin to sad ), perhaps influenced by satiate
Explanation
Sometimes you're so hungry you feel like you could eat a ten-course meal. Other times it takes just a small salad to sate your appetite, or to satisfy your hunger. The verb sate comes from the Old English sadian, “to satiate,” and can be applied to any situation regarding the satisfaction of a need or an appetite. If you have been craving something sweet, your craving might be sated by a bag of jellybeans. However, if it seems like you can never get enough jellybeans, your appetite for sweets might be described as insatiable, a word used to describe a person or entity whose appetites — literally or figuratively — are impossible to satisfy.
Vocabulary lists containing sate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Teeming Terms: Synonyms for "Full"
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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:
Investors regard Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cell as a robust source of power to sate data centers’ endless appetite.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
I always order chicken sate and the green papaya salad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
The startup says its discoveries can help sate the U.S.’s thirst for power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
While the network has tried to sate its audience, no “Ultimate Girls Trip” or “Simple Life”-esque spinoff has quite hit the mark like “RHONY” classic could.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025
Dr. Trefusis did not note their absence, but as Bono sate himself down beside us, greeted him.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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Oil markets have been relatively subdued considering the escalating conflict, in part because global consumers are well sated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Ryan thwarted Bellingham again as tensions calmed by the end, with the crowd temporarily sated by the victory.
From Barron's ● Jan. 17, 2026
My appetite is sated and I am not tempted by snacks, other than the recommended apples, grapes and nuts.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
Power can never have enough, it can't be sated.
From Salon ● May 26, 2025
Before the delicious and abundant sorrows of the Protectorate had fed her soul until it was indolent and sated and gloriously fat.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
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Another visitor disagreed, sating: "It's just one sign... I think it's good advertising. It gets seen a lot."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Workcations may be alluring, but they also deny something more important than sating our wanderlust: a chance to rest our brains.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2023
As such, she’s the frontrunner in Round 1, but there are major obstacles to the “Yellowjackets” star sating the show’s hunger for a major prize.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2023
Thousands of blogs, Facebook posts and Instagram pictures of smashed avocado on toast also diffuse around the world, sating our narcissistic desire to tell everyone how healthy we are or hope to be.
From Salon ● May 10, 2017
But beyond sating the national pride that had been pricked by the Soviet advance, the prospect of being involved in something that was so untried, untested, and unexplored connected with Katherine’s truest self.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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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.