different between kindly vs satisfactory

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?ka?ndli/

Etymology 1

From Middle English kyndely, kyndeliche, from Old English cyndel?? (“natural, kindly”); equivalent to kind +? -ly.

Adjective

kindly (comparative kindlier, superlative kindliest)

1. Having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.

   • The shade by which my life was crossed […] has made me kindly with my kind.

2. (dated) Favourable, gentle, pleasant, tidy, auspicious, beneficent.
3. (archaic) Lawful.
4. (obsolete) Natural; inherent to the kind or race.

   • the kindly fruits of the earth

   • November 5, 1609, Lancelot Andrewes, A Sermon Preached before the King's Majesty at Whitehall

     Whatsoever as the Son of God he may do, it is kindly for Him as the Son of Man to save the sons of men.

Derived terms

• kindlily
• kindliness
• kindly tenant
• unkindly

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English kyndly, kyndely, kyndeliche, kundeliche, from Old English ?ecyndel??e, equivalent to kind +? -ly.

Adverb

kindly (comparative more kindly, superlative most kindly)

1. In a kind manner, out of kindness.
2. In a favourable way.
3. Used to make a polite request: please.
4. (US) With kind acceptance; used with take.

5. (dialectal) Kind of, somewhat.
6. (archaic) Readily.
7. (obsolete) Naturally.

Usage notes

• (please): Kindly is used in a slightly more peremptory way than please. It is generally used to introduce a request with which the person addressed is expected to comply, and takes the edge off what would otherwise be a command.
• (with kind acceptance): This sense is a negative polarity item; it is usually found in questions and negative statements, as in the above example sentences.

Synonyms

• (in a kind manner): thoughtfully
• (used to make polite requests): be so kind as to, please

Derived terms

• take kindly

Translations

Further reading

• “kindly”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French satisfactoire, from Late Latin satisfact?rius, from Latin satisfactus, past participle of satisfaci?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæt?s?fækt(?)?i/
• Rhymes: -ækt??i

Adjective

satisfactory (comparative more satisfactory, superlative most satisfactory)

1. Done to satisfaction; adequate or sufficient.

   The satisfactory results of the survey led to his promotion.
2. Causing satisfaction; agreeable or pleasant; satisfying.
3. (theology) Making atonement for a sin; expiatory.

Usage notes

Although structurally similar (both being derived from satisfy and describing that which produces satisfaction), satisfactory (def. 1) and satisfying differ in connotation. Satisfactory connotes "adequate, conforming to standards," while satisfying connotes "pleasing, or sufficient to remove any feeling of lack." An answer to a question or the outcome of a situation, for example, could be satisfactory without being satisfying, if it met the requirements but left one wanting more.

Derived terms

• satisfactorily (adv)
• unsatisfactory (adj)

Related terms

• satisfaction (n)
• satisfied (adj)

Translations