Gratification

How to spell gratification

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce gratification

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gratification mean?

1. nounThe pleasure or satisfaction felt when a desire, need, or wish is met.

Gratification in a sentence

• The chef takes great gratification in watching diners enjoy the meal.

• Online shopping offers instant gratification that a high-street trip cannot match.

Where does gratification come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb gratificari, meaning 'to do a favour for' or 'to oblige someone', which was built from gratus, meaning 'pleasing' or 'thankful', joined to facere, meaning 'to make' or 'to do'. So at its root the word literally describes the act of making something pleasing. The related Latin noun gratificatio carried the sense of an obliging kindness or a granting of a wish. English took the word in during the 1500s, largely by way of French gratification, where it referred both to a gift or reward and to the giving of pleasure. Over time the modern emphasis settled on the feeling of satisfaction itself, the sense of a desire being indulged or pleased. The same gratus root still surfaces in everyday relatives such as 'grateful', 'gratitude', and 'gratis', which is the clue to that opening 'grati-' that some writers wrongly start with 'grate-'.

How the word is built

• grati- (from Latin gratus: pleasing, thankful)
• -fic- (from facere: to make)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)