gratification

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “gratification”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Etymology

From Latin grātificātiō either directly or through Middle French gratification, from Latin grātificō (“to do a favor to, oblige, please, gratify”), from grātus (“kind, pleasing”) + faciō (“to make”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɡɹætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: grat‧i‧fi‧ca‧tion
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

gratification (countable and uncountable, plural gratifications)

1. (countable)
   1. The act of gratifying or pleasing, either the mind, or the appetite or taste.

      Synonym: gladness

      gratification of the heart    gratification of the palate

      • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 295–296:

        I know nothing of Mr. Courtenaye; but I can perceive enough of this affair to see that he is one of those who, for a moment's selfish gratification, or for the yet meaner love of gratified vanity, will excite the deepest feelings, and trifle with the dearest hopes of all who trust them!

      • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 161:

        Many of the so-called rites of these secret societies were so patently ridiculous, that it is quite obvious that they were merely an excuse for men and women to indulge in sex-play and lustful gratification, frequently of an abnormal kind.

   2. A gratuity; a reward.
2. (uncountable) A feeling of pleasure; satisfaction.

   Synonyms: delight, enjoyment, gladness, fruition

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Confidence”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 102:

     I will tell you all my faults frankly beforehand. I am very vain, for I cultivate my vanity on a principle, and cannot understand why we should neglect such a source of gratification.

   • 1900, Booker T[aliaferro] Washington, “Helping Others”, in Up from Slavery: An Autobiography, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Co., published 1901, →OCLC, page 66:

     To my gratification he told me I could reënter the institution, and that he would trust me to pay the debt when I could.

Derived terms

• oral gratification
• self-gratification

Related terms

• gratify

Translations

act of gratifying or pleasing

• Bulgarian: удовлетворение (bg) n (udovletvorenie), задоволство (bg) n (zadovolstvo)
• Finnish: tyydytys (fi), tyydyttäminen (fi) (gratifying); miellyttäminen (fi) (pleasing)
• Hungarian: kielégítés (hu)
• Indonesian: gratifikasi (id)
• Norwegian: glede (no), tilfredsstille (no)
• Plautdietsch: Befrädjunk f
• Russian: удовлетворение (ru) (udovletvorenije), ублажение (ru) n (ublaženije)

gratuity; reward — see also gratuity,‎ reward

• Bulgarian: възнаграждение (bg) n (vǎznagraždenie)
• Dutch: gratificatie (nl)
• Esperanto: gratifikacio, gratifo, gratifiko
• Finnish: palkinto (fi); hyvitys (fi); lahja (fi)
• French: récompense (fr)
• German: Befriedigung (de)
• Hungarian: kielégülés (hu), jutalom (hu), jutalmazás (hu)
• Indonesian: gratifikasi (id)
• Polish: gratyfikacja (pl) f
• Russian: вознаграждение (ru) n (voznagraždenije)

feeling of pleasure — see also satisfaction

• Finnish: tyytyväisyys (fi), mielihyvä (fi)
• Polish: gratyfikacja (pl) f
• Russian: удовольствие (ru) (udovolʹstvije), удовлетворение (ru) (udovletvorenije)

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

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} удоволствие (bg) n (udovolstvie)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} kontentiĝo

Further reading

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

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡʁa.ti.fi.ka.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gratification f (plural gratifications)

1. gratification

Further reading

• “gratification”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.