Word family noun satisfaction ≠ dissatisfaction adjective satisfactory ≠ unsatisfactory satisfied ≠ dissatisfied ≠ unsatisfied satisfying verb satisfy adverb satisfactorily ≠ unsatisfactorily satisfyingly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsatisfactorysat‧is‧fac‧to‧ry /ˌsætəsˈfæktəri◂/ ●●○ adjective GOOD ENOUGHsomething that is satisfactory seems good enough for you, or good enough for a particular situation or purpose OPP unsatisfactory His progress this term has been satisfactory.satisfactory to/for an arrangement that is satisfactory to both sidessatisfactory explanation/answer There seems to be no satisfactory explanation.perfectly/entirely/wholly satisfactory None of the solutions was entirely satisfactory.satisfactory result/outcome/resolution —satisfactorily adverb The question has not been satisfactorily answered.COLLOCATIONSadverbsvery/highly/most satisfactoryAfter her initial difficulties she has made a very satisfactory recovery.perfectly/quite satisfactoryFor a small amount of cream, a wire whisk is perfectly satisfactory.not entirely/wholly/completelyFrege’s theory is not entirely satisfactory.far from satisfactoryThis system was far from satisfactory for a number of reasons. THESAURUSsatisfactory good enough – often used when something reaches a fairly good standard, but is not of a high standardHer grades are satisfactory.For a beginner, this camera produces satisfactory results.all right/OK spoken not bad, but not very goodThe meal was all right, but rather expensive.‘How was the film?’ ‘It was OK.’reasonable fairly gooda reasonable standard of livingThe quality of the food was reasonable.acceptable if something is acceptable to you, you think it is good enough and you are willing to take itan acceptable offer an acceptable level of risk They can't find a solution that is acceptable to both sides. adequate enough in quantity, or of a good enough standard. Adequate sounds rather formal and is used especially in official contextsan adequate supply of drinking water adequate standards of hygiene decent especially spoken good enough in quality – used especially when something is as good as most other thingsI want my kids to get a decent education.Where can I get a decent cup of coffee?The food’s decent and the service is good.passable satisfactory, but not of the best quality – used especially about food and drink, or someone’s skill at doing something. Passable sounds rather formala passable French wineHis Japanese was passable.a passable imitation of Barack Obamabe up to scratch informal to be of a good enough standardHis work wasn’t up to scratch.None of the hotels they suggested were up to scratch.will do informal to be good enough for a particular purposeAny kind of paper will do. ‘How about Ken?’ ‘I suppose he’ll do.’ Examples from the Corpus
satisfactory• They had to go through a long interrogation, and their answers were not found to be satisfactory.• You won't get paid unless your work is satisfactory.• However, to look only at the persons who were the actual depositors would not be satisfactory.• The general sanitary situation in Gorazde seemed reasonably satisfactory.• Nobody could give Donna a satisfactory answer to her question.• The position was satisfactory but the Society faced considerable expenditure in connection with the Museum and donations would be particularly welcome.• Lynne got satisfactory grades and was offered a place at university.• Adequate organization performance is possible through balancing the necessity to get out work while maintaining morale at a satisfactory level.• There was no satisfactory method of dealing with trivial complaints.• Particularly in terms of slippage the minutes are sometimes less than satisfactory, recording only the slippage since the last meeting.• How does the analyst decide what constitutes a satisfactory unit for analysis?satisfactory result/outcome/resolution• The smoothing recipe described below generally gives satisfactory results and involves only a limited amount of computational effort.• All three diabetic patients had a satisfactory outcome despite the fact that one of them has severe autonomic neuropathy.• Only 16 butterflies were seen but these are seasonal insects and this represents a very satisfactory result for one month's search.• The only satisfactory resolution is to plan future visits in order to complete a thorough sampling.• A suboptimal ultrasonographic localisation could explain less satisfactory results obtained in some other centres.• Final ratification can be reserved for a satisfactory outcome of the debate.• There is no satisfactory resolution of this problem, either conceptually or empirically.• He had been prepared to cancel an engagement at London's Victoria and Albert Museum if a satisfactory outcome was reached. 