different between satisfactory vs obedient

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

English

Etymology

From Middle English obedient, from Old French obedient, from Latin oboedi?ns, present active participle of oboedi? (“obey”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bi?d??nt/, /???bi?d??nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bidi?nt/, /o??bidi?nt/
• Hyphenation: obe?di?ent

Adjective

obedient (comparative more obedient, superlative most obedient)

1. Willing to comply with the commands, orders, or instructions of those in authority.

Synonyms

• hearsome
• dutiful

Antonyms

• disobedient
• dominant

Related terms

• obedience
• obey

Translations

Noun

obedient (plural obedients)

1. One who obeys.
   • 2002, John Michael Doris, Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior (page 48)

     Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you will; the experiment does not motivate confidence about how particular subjects would behave in markedly dissimilar situations.

Further reading

• obedient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obedient in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin oboedi?ns, present active participle of oboedi? (“obey”).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /o.b?.di?ent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /u.b?.di?en/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /o.be.di?ent/

Adjective

obedient (masculine and feminine plural obedients)

1. obedient

   Antonym: desobedient

Derived terms

• obedientment

Related terms

• obediència
• obeir

Further reading

• “obedient” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Latin

Verb

ob?dient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of ob?di?

Old French

Etymology

From Latin oboedi?ns, present active participle of oboedi? (“obey”).

Adjective

obedient m (oblique and nominative feminine singular obedient or obediente)

1. obedient

Declension