1
as in to alleviate
to put a complete end to (a physical need or desire) the players satisfied their hunger after the game with a big pasta dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
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5
as in to compensate
to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury the owners of the restaurant were generously satisfied for any business lost during the filming

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word satisfy distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of satisfy are compensate, indemnify, pay, recompense, reimburse, remunerate, and repay. While all these words mean "to give money or its equivalent in return for something," satisfy implies paying a person what is required by law.

all creditors will be satisfied in full

When would compensate be a good substitute for satisfy?

The words compensate and satisfy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, compensate implies a making up for services rendered.

an attorney well compensated for her services

When could indemnify be used to replace satisfy?

The synonyms indemnify and satisfy are sometimes interchangeable, but indemnify implies making good a loss suffered through accident, disaster, warfare.

indemnified the families of the dead miners

When is it sensible to use pay instead of satisfy?

Although the words pay and satisfy have much in common, pay implies the discharge of an obligation incurred.

paid their bills

Where would recompense be a reasonable alternative to satisfy?

While in some cases nearly identical to satisfy, recompense suggests due return in amends, friendly repayment, or reward.

passengers were recompensed for the delay

When is reimburse a more appropriate choice than satisfy?

While the synonyms reimburse and satisfy are close in meaning, reimburse implies a return of money that has been spent for another's benefit.

reimbursed employees for expenses

When can remunerate be used instead of satisfy?

The words remunerate and satisfy can be used in similar contexts, but remunerate clearly suggests paying for services rendered and may extend to payment that is generous or not contracted for.

promised to remunerate the searchers handsomely

When might repay be a better fit than satisfy?

The meanings of repay and satisfy largely overlap; however, repay stresses paying back an equivalent in kind or amount.

repay a favor with a favor

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 satisfy More files are due to be released as the DOJ satisfies a subpoena deadline of September 8. Peter Vanham, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2025 From a design perspective, Ebert is all for satisfying this request. Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2025 Meanwhile, a separate trailer bill lawmakers approved in June includes additional requirements cities and counties must satisfy to receive state homelessness funding. Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025 The kitchen needs to turn out three meals a day that are creative enough to draw in finicky locals, anodyne enough to satisfy an international clientele, and sturdy enough to survive the room-service gauntlet. Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for satisfy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for satisfy
Verb
  • Even so, the £125m British-record fee received for Isak (which the club insist is actually worth £130m to them due to solidarity payments being waived) is an astronomical fee and should alleviate any concerns about the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules for several windows to come.
    James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • That simplifies the process for fans, but probably doesn’t alleviate the sticker shock.
    Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • While speaking on a panel at the opening of the movie, which details the life and career of actor John Candy, who died at 43 in 1994, Reynolds revealed that his 2-year-old son, Olin, played a key part in convincing Bill Murray, 74, to have a role in the documentary.
    Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
  • His life was going nowhere, until his brother Scott dragged him off the couch and convinced Dean to sign up with his acting coach, Bill Esper.
    Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But alas, the March 2005 issue had me on the inside of a pullout cover to fulfill their legal obligation.
    Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Buried under the charred rubble on Life Changers Global Ministries’ parking lot is a promise that will be fulfilled, the decades-old south Phoenix church’s pastor is quick to assure.
    Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Get the recipe > Creamy, cheesy, and satisfying, this dip is sure to please at your next late-summer get together.
    SAVEUR Editors, Saveur, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Film studios have long struggled to make adaptations of video games that please critics and audiences, and some critics have suggested video games are tough to adapt because the sheer volume of gaming content has to be condensed to fit the length of a movie.
    Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Pixel’s Magic Editor leverages generative AI tools, which can remove objects in the background, alter lighting, and realistically change the entire mood of a phone (a bright middary sun can easily be compensated for).
    Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Efficient, neat, always available as a means of compensating for her (completely justified) fear of not being a brilliant enough copywriter.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But in the meantime, the K-pop superstar boy band’s diehards can slake their thirst by watching member V smoke the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game on Monday (Aug. 25).
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Moreover, there is no reason to assume that such concessions would slake Chinese and Russian ambitions: consider, for example, what Beijing’s massive investments in Latin America and attempts to corrupt the Canadian political system suggest about Chinese intentions.
    KORI SCHAKE, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • But much like Howard Jarvis feared, the tax-and-spend interests have sought to destroy Proposition 13 ever since, most recently by persuading courts to carve loopholes in its constitutional protections and invent new ways for government agencies to raise revenue.
    Jon Coupal, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Elizabeth Stage, whose Oakland hills home barely escaped the deadly 1991 firestorm, and whose work as president of the Oakland FireSafe Council involves persuading residents to adopt Zone 0 measures, said the study would be a helpful, persuasive tool.
    Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.
    Max Springer, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Their incredible restraint and tolerance for the small, noisy bird delighted viewers.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Satisfy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/satisfy. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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