different between satisfaction vs retribution

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin satisfactio, satisfactionis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæt?s?fæk??n/
• Rhymes: -æk??n

Noun

satisfaction (countable and uncountable, plural satisfactions)

1. A fulfilment of a need or desire.

2. The pleasure obtained by such fulfillment.
   • November 4, 1860, Henry David Thoreau, letter to Mr. D. R.

     This life is not for complaint, but for satisfaction.

   • Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked around at the sudden rustle of skirts to catch a glimpse of a vanishing figure—a glimmer of ruddy hair and the white curve of a youthful face, half-buried in a muff.

3. The source of such gratification.
4. A reparation for an injury or loss.
5. A vindication for a wrong suffered.

Translations

Derived terms

• satisfaction note
• satisfaction piece
• satisfaction theory of atonement

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin satisfactio, satisfactionem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa.tis.fak.sj??/

Noun

satisfaction f (uncountable)

1. satisfaction
2. fulfilment
3. pleasure

Synonyms

• (fulfilment): assouvissement
• (pleasure): plaisir

Further reading

• “satisfaction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Latin retribuere (“repay”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???t???bju??n/

Noun

retribution (countable and uncountable, plural retributions)

1. Punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.
   • 1983, Richard A. Posner, The economics of justicem p.208:

     Whereas retribution focuses on the offender's wrong, retaliation focuses on the impulse of the victim (or of those who sympathize with him) to strike back at the offender.

   • 1999, Barbara Hanawalt, Medieval crime and social control, p.73:

     1. Revenge is for an injury; retribution is for a wrong.

     2. Retribution sets an internal limit to the amount of the punishment according to the seriousness of the wrong; revenge need not.

     3. Revenge is personal; the agent of retribution need have no special or personal tie to the victim of the wrong for which he exacts retribution.

     4. Revenge involves a particular emotional tone, pleasure in the suffering of another, while retribution need involve no emotional tone.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:revenge

Hypernyms

• punishment

Related terms

• retributionist
• retributive
• retributionary
• retributory

Translations