From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgratifygrat‧i‧fy /ˈɡrætɪfaɪ/ verb (gratified, gratifying, gratifies) [transitive] formal 1 SATISFIEDto make someone feel pleased and satisfied He was gratified by Lucy’s response.be gratified to see/hear/learn etc John was gratified to see the improvement in his mother’s health.Grammar Gratify is usually passive in this meaning.2 SATISFIEDto satisfy a desire, need etc She did not propose to gratify Gloria’s curiosity any further. —gratification /ˌɡrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable] sexual gratification→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
gratify• I am embarrassed and totally gratified.• Necking, petting, become gratifying enough pastimes and I am lucky with the boys in my life.• I knew that faking the tears would gratify her and end the punishment, but I refused.• It gratified him to discover how popular his singing was.• Too many men believe that women exist mainly to gratify their needs.• I was not surprised, although I was rather gratified, to find the semi-detached house one of incredible modesty.be gratified to see/hear/learn etc• He was gratified to see the shock in Gazzer's eyes.Origin gratify (1400-1500) French gratifier, from Latin gratificare “to make yourself pleasing”, from gratus; → GRATEFUL 