Satisfactory Meaning
/sætɪsˈfækt(ə)ɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjDone to satisfaction; adequate or sufficient.
adjCausing satisfaction; agreeable or pleasant; satisfying.
Sentence Examples
Your answer is far from satisfactory.
The results of the term examination were anything but satisfactory.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher said that the student's performance was ____ because it met all the basic criteria.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The examiner considered the student's performance ____ but noted room for improvement.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French satisfactoire, from Late Latin satisfactōrius, from Latin satisfactus, past participle of satisfaciō.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The criterion of mental health is not one of individual adjustment to a given social order, but a universal one, valid for all men, of giving a satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence."
— 1955, Erich Fromm, The Sane Society, Fawcet:
"To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds, and watch their renewal of life,—this is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing a man can do."
— 1870, Charles Dudley Warner, “Preliminary”, in My Summer in a Garden, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, page 15:
"[…] therefore the ſuffering of any other nature could not bee ſo pertinent, nor kindly ſatisfactory."
— 1623, John Mayer, The English Catechisme Explained, 3rd edition, London: Aug. Mathewes, page 36:
"They seem quite big on more selectivity in breeding and stiffer tests to divide the satisfactories from rejects. They say that even the term 'satisfactories' is wrong because it suggests a level just above mediocrity."
— 1978, Robert Thurston, Alicia II, page 143:
"I've been a good student — mostly distinguisheds and only a few satisfactories […]"
— 1996, Donna E. Muncey, Patrick J. McQuillan, Reform and Resistance in Schools and Classrooms, page 130:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher said that the student's performance was ____ because it met all the basic criteria.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The examiner considered the student's performance ____ but noted room for improvement.