sate

1
as in to gorge
to fill with food to capacity I sated myself with an array of decadent offerings from the dessert table

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in to satisfy
to put a complete end to (a physical need or desire) a huge meal that should have sated everyone's hunger

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How is the word sate different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of sate are cloy, glut, gorge, pall, satiate, and surfeit. While all these words mean "to fill to repletion," satiate and sate may sometimes imply only complete satisfaction but more often suggest repletion that has destroyed interest or desire.

years of globe-trotting had satiated their interest in travel
readers were sated with sensationalistic stories

When could cloy be used to replace sate?

While in some cases nearly identical to sate, cloy stresses the disgust or boredom resulting from such surfeiting.

sentimental pictures that cloy after a while

When can glut be used instead of sate?

The words glut and sate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, glut implies excess in feeding or supplying.

a market glutted with diet books

When would gorge be a good substitute for sate?

While the synonyms gorge and sate are close in meaning, gorge suggests glutting to the point of bursting or choking.

gorged themselves with chocolate

When is it sensible to use pall instead of sate?

Although the words pall and sate have much in common, pall emphasizes the loss of ability to stimulate interest or appetite.

a life of leisure eventually begins to pall

Where would surfeit be a reasonable alternative to sate?

The words surfeit and sate can be used in similar contexts, but surfeit implies a nauseating repletion.

surfeited themselves with junk food

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sate Keeping exhausted lawmakers sated was a crucial component of the two-day gathering. Mike Lillis, The Hill, 14 May 2025 The new retractable sating system will host a 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL, SEG says. Tim Newcomb, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025 The Seattle math-rock band had broken up in 2018 after feeling sated from a 17-year run. Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 4 Mar. 2025 Even with dark circles under his eyes, Elias seemed full of life, sated with freedom. Laila Lalami, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sate
Verb
  • Over the next few months, the fry will gorge themselves on thousands of tiny crustaceans each week, while the institution’s Animal Care team will be hard at work to ensure that as many as possible can reach full maturity.
    Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
  • Rubinoff has already brought several into the lab, where the caterpillars can gorge themselves on Drosophila pupae with no fear of spiders interrupting the feast.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Under Chapter 11, creditors, including the IRS, cannot take your primary residence to satisfy debts.
    Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 18 June 2025
  • Serve up a board at a party, and have fun sampling all the different flavors with your guests, or whip up a quick flight for a drool-worthy afternoon snack that satisfies all your cravings.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • These flaky hand pies stuffed with sweet-tart cherries are the perfect two-bite desserts for topping off a full Fourth of July spread.
    Patricia S York, Southern Living, 27 June 2025
  • Mensah stuffed his 6-foot-10 frame into it … for 12½ hours.
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • And while May is also a busy month for ESPN and TNT, which in late spring are glutted with live NBA and NHL playoff games, cable as a whole accounted for less than a quarter (24.1%) of all consumption last month.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 June 2025
  • The risotto was impeccably cooked, each grain a plump oval glutted with crab stock and a compound butter infused with ginger, shallot Thai chile and tomato.
    Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • As a theater critic surfeited with plays, radio dramas worked best for me as an unplanned diversion in my car.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
  • But surfeited with at-home entertainment options, former subscribers are preferring the flexibility of single-ticket sales.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2023
Verb
  • The farm—which is, in fact, an enormous warehouse—is filled with lettuce seedlings growing under banks of lights in a mist of chemicals.
    Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
  • Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly recently suggested the Yankees could swing a trade for Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez to fill the massive hole at third base in the Bronx.
    Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sate. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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