adjective
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adequate or suitable; acceptable
a satisfactory answer
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giving satisfaction
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constituting or involving atonement, recompense, or expiation for sin
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of satisfactory
First recorded in 1520–30; from Medieval Latin satisfactōrius, from Latin satisfac(ere) “to do enough” ( see satisfaction ( def. )) + -tōrius -tory 1
Explanation
If something's satisfactory it's okay — acceptable, but maybe not great. When you take a course pass/fail, your grade will be satisfactory if you meet all the requirements and do a reasonable job, or unsatisfactory if you don't. Try not to confuse satisfactory and satisfying. If you've cooked a satisfactory turkey for Thanksgiving, your guests aren't getting sick or making excuses to leave the table, but they're probably not asking for seconds either. But if your turkey is satisfying, everybody is complimenting you on your culinary skills and probably sitting back in their chairs with contented smiles on their faces.
Vocabulary lists containing satisfactory
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Thumbs Up: Synonyms for "Good"
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You Are Correct! Synonyms for "Right"
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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.
Agriculture Department officials estimate that the climb will not begin to slow down until autumn at best, and it will be the early 1980s before herds are back up to satisfactory size.
From Time Magazine Archive
This may be obtained in pieces of a satisfactory size by cutting paraffin candles, from which the wick has been withdrawn, into lengths of about half an inch.
From A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing by Bolas, Bernard D.
We will suppose at present that none exist in this typical case, and that the pedicle is found of a satisfactory size and shape.
From A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners by Bell, Joseph
On the contrary, in small streams running through a fertile soil, fish are frequently killed of a most satisfactory size and weight.
From The Teesdale Angler by Lakeland, R.
And the check in the letter had been of satisfactory size.
From Indirection by Freas, Kelly
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.
