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satisfy - definition and synonyms


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verb     satisfy pronunciation in American English
Word Forms
present tense
present participlesatisfying
past tensesatisfied
past participlesatisfied
  1. 1
    [transitive] to please someone by giving them something that they want or need

    an agreement that is unlikely to satisfy environmental campaigners

    It’s impossible to satisfy everyone.

    1. a.
      [intransitive/transitive] if something satisfies your needs or wants, it gives you what you need or want

      celebrities who will do almost anything to satisfy their craving for publicity

      satisfy someone’s curiosity:

      I just want to satisfy my curiosity – why did he do it?

      satisfy someone’s hunger/appetite/thirst:

      There’s nothing like a cold beer to satisfy your thirst.

      satisfy the demand for something (=provide as much as people want):

      Entire forests are being destroyed to satisfy the demand for wooden furniture.

  2. 2
    [transitive] if something satisfies a rule, condition, or standard, it has all the qualities or features that are necessary according to the rule, condition, etc.

    Students must satisfy all the requirements to be accepted into the program.

  3. 3
    [transitive] to provide someone with the evidence that they need in order to be certain that something is true
    satisfy someone/yourself (that):

    The prosecution has to satisfy the jury that the defendant is guilty.

    We’ll be carrying out our own inspection, to satisfy ourselves that safety standards are acceptable.

  4. 4
    [transitive] maths if a number or group of numbers satisfies an equation, it is a correct solution to it
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