Meanings
comparative more unsatisfactory · superlative most unsatisfactory
- Inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory.
unsatisfactory result
4 more examples
The quality of the work was unsatisfactory.
The initial results were unsatisfactory, so the experiment was repeated.
unsatisfactory performance
unsatisfactory condition
Synonyms: deficient, insufficient, wanting, awanting, deficient, dismal, exiguous, geason
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveInadequate, substandard or not satisfactory.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot giving satisfaction
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishsatisfactory
- Englishunsatisfactory
From un- + satisfactory.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian незадоволителен
- незадоволителен (nezadovolitelen)inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Catalan insatisfactori
- insatisfactoriinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Chinese Mandarin 不满足的, 不尽人意的
- 不满足的inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
- 不尽人意的inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Danish utilfredsstillende
- utilfredsstillendeinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Dutch onbevredigend
- onbevredigendinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Esperanto malkontentiga
- malkontentigainadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Estonian mitterahuldav
- mitterahuldavinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Finnish epätyydyttävä
- epätyydyttäväinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
French insatisfaisant
- insatisfaisantinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Hungarian elégtelen, nem kielégítő
- elégteleninadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
- nem kielégítőinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Norwegian Bokmål utilfredsstillende
- utilfredsstillendeinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Polish niezadowalający
- niezadowalającyinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Portuguese insatisfatório
- insatisfatórioinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Russian неудовлетвори́тельный
- неудовлетвори́тельный (neudovletvorítelʹnyj)inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Spanish insatisfactorio
- insatisfactorioinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Swedish otillfredsställande
- otillfredsställandeinadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Ukrainian незадові́льний
- незадові́льний (nezadovílʹnyj)inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with unsatisfactory
Cite this entry
unsatisfactory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsatisfactory
“unsatisfactory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsatisfactory. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unsatisfactory,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unsatisfactory.
Source: unsatisfactory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.