Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Giving satisfaction sufficient to meet a demand or requirement; adequate. synonym: sufficient.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Affording satisfaction; satisfying; that fully gratifies or contents; fulfilling all demands or requirements: as, to make satisfactory arrangements; to give a satisfactory account; a satisfactory state of affairs.
- Making reparation, atonement, or expiation; expiatory.
- Synonyms Gratifying, pleasing, sufficient, convincing, conclusive, decisive. See
satisfy . - noun A place or means of atonement or retribution.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Giving or producing satisfaction; yielding content; especially, relieving the mind from doubt or uncertainty, and enabling it to rest with confidence; sufficient.
- adjective Making amends, indemnification, or recompense; causing to cease from claims and to rest content; compensating; atoning.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Done to
satisfaction ;adequate orsufficient
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective giving satisfaction
- adjective meeting requirements
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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_clear, fair_, and _satisfactory_, not in our being always ready to offer an explanation, whether satisfactory or not.
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Mr Lightman said: It is seriously misleading that Ofsted continues to interpret the term satisfactory as the opposite of its dictionary definition.
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But Howells thought the title satisfactory, and indeed it was the best that could have been selected for the series.
Mark Twain's Letters — Volume 2 (1867-1875) Mark Twain 1872
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But Howells thought the title satisfactory, and indeed it was the best that could have been selected for the series.
Complete Letters of Mark Twain Mark Twain 1872
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Inspectors are being urged to abandon the term "satisfactory" to describe schools in the wake of evidence that thousands of those so labelled have serious weaknesses.
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I don't want the word 'satisfactory' to exist in our education system.
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"This is what I call satisfactory," said Bill, as they sat at breakfast next morning.
The Magic Pudding Being the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and His Friends Bill Barnacle & Sam Sawnoff Norman Lindsay 1924
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'This is what I call satisfactory,' said Bill, as they sat at breakfast next morning.
The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay 1924
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This is what we call satisfactory evidence, and with the poor means at our disposal it must suffice.
Criminal Psychology: a manual for judges, practitioners, and students 1911
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Suddenly the Major declared his intention of putting the whole of Ross's establishment (including bicycle) on what he called a satisfactory basis by
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, June 27, 1917 Various 1898
milosrdenstvi commented on the word satisfactory
KO-KO. Your Majesty, it's like this: It is true that I stated that I had killed Nanki-Poo----
MIKADO. Yes, with most affecting particulars.
POOH-BAH. Merely corroborative detail intended to give artistic verisimilitude to a bald and----
KO-KO. Will you refrain from putting in your oar? (To Mikado.) It's like this: When your Majesty says, "Let a thing be done," it's as good as done--practically, it is done--because your Majesty's will is law. Your Majesty says, "Kill a
gentleman," and a gentleman is told off to be killed.
Consequently, that gentleman is as good as dead--practically, he is dead--and if he is dead, why not say so?
MIKADO. I see. Nothing could possibly be more satisfactory!
-- Gilbert & Sullivan
August 21, 2008