gratify

English

Etymology

From French gratifier, from Latin grātificō (“to do a favor to, oblige, please, gratify”), from grātus (“kind, pleasing”) + faciō (“to make”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡrætɪfaɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: grat‧i‧fy

Verb

gratify (third-person singular simple present gratifies, present participle gratifying, simple past and past participle gratified)

1. (transitive) To please.
2. (transitive) To make content; to satisfy.

   gratify the critics

   gratify the voters

Synonyms

• gladden

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “please”): anger, disquiet, fluster

Derived terms

• gratification
• gratifying

Translations

to please

• Armenian: գոհացնել (hy) (gohacʻnel)
• Bulgarian: задоволявам (bg) (zadovoljavam), удовлетворявам (bg) (udovletvorjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使/讓（……）高興／使/让（……）高兴

• Finnish: ilahduttaa (fi), miellyttää (fi)
• Latin: iuvo
• Maori: whakawaireka
• Russian: угожда́ть (ru) impf (ugoždátʹ), угоди́ть (ru) pf (ugodítʹ), ублажа́ть (ru) impf (ublažátʹ), ублажи́ть (ru) pf (ublažítʹ)

to make content, satisfy

• Bulgarian: доставям удоволствие (dostavjam udovolstvie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使/讓（……）滿足／使/让（……）满足

• Finnish: tyydyttää (fi)
• Japanese: 満足させる (ja) (まんぞくさせる, manzoku saseru), 満たす (ja) (みたす, mitasu)
• Maori: whakawaireka, whakatūtataki
• Russian: удовлетворя́ть (ru) impf (udovletvorjátʹ), удовлетвори́ть (ru) pf (udovletvorítʹ)
• Swedish: tillfredsställa (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} gratifier (fr)

Further reading

• “gratify”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “gratify”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.