Meaning & use
satisfaction
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Meanings
noununcountable
The pleased feeling you get when you have done something well or got what you wanted.
Grammar: Often uncountable: she felt satisfaction, with a countable use in a few phrases.
Patterns
- satisfaction at something
- satisfaction in doing something
- take satisfaction from something
She felt deep satisfaction when the bridge was finished.
He takes great satisfaction in teaching children to read.
There was quiet satisfaction on his face after the win.
noununcountablebusiness
How content customers or workers are with a product, service or situation.
Grammar: Often in a compound: customer satisfaction, job satisfaction.
Patterns
- satisfaction with something
Customer satisfaction rose after the redesign.
The survey measured job satisfaction among nurses.
Our satisfaction with the service was low.
noununcountableformal
The act of meeting a need, claim or condition, or the thing that does this.
Grammar: Often formal; used for debts, claims and conditions.
Patterns
- to the satisfaction of someone
- the satisfaction of a claim
The debt was paid to the satisfaction of the bank.
The settlement allowed full satisfaction of the claim.
Satisfaction of the contract's conditions was required.
noununcountableformal
A fair remedy or apology for a wrong you have suffered.
Grammar: Used in phrases like demand satisfaction or get satisfaction.
Patterns
- demand satisfaction
- get satisfaction
He demanded satisfaction for the insult.
The customer finally got satisfaction after weeks of complaints.
Word forms
| plural | satisfactions |
|---|
Common combinations
- customer satisfaction
- Customer satisfaction is our priority.
- job satisfaction
- Pay is only one part of job satisfaction.
- sense of satisfaction
- She felt a sense of satisfaction after finishing the marathon.
- to someone's satisfaction
- The work was completed to the client's satisfaction.
- deep satisfaction
- He looked back with deep satisfaction on his career.
- guaranteed satisfaction
- The shop offers guaranteed satisfaction or your money back.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contentment
- Contentment is a calm, lasting state of being happy with what you have, while satisfaction often follows achieving a particular thing.
- fulfillment
- Fulfillment suggests deeper personal meaning, whereas satisfaction can be a brief good feeling.
- gratification
- Gratification is the quick pleasure from getting a desire met, often with a hint of self-indulgence.
- pleasure
- Pleasure is broader and covers any enjoyment, not only the result of effort.
Opposites
Word family
- satisfy verb
- to meet a need or please someone
- satisfied adjective
- pleased with what has happened
- satisfactory adjective
- good enough, though not excellent
- satisfying adjective
- giving a feeling of fulfillment
- dissatisfaction noun
- the feeling of not being happy with something
Commonly confused: satisfaction or satisfactory?
satisfaction vs satisfactory
Satisfactory describes something good enough to be acceptable. Satisfaction is the feeling of being pleased.
Practice
The school measured parent ___ with the new lunch menu.
Choose one answer.
A noun is needed after parent as the thing measured, and satisfaction with something is the standard pattern. Satisfied and satisfactory are adjectives and satisfy is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “satisfaction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.