Dissatisfied, Unsatisfied

Don’t mix up dissatisfied with unsatisfied. Dissatisfied applies only to people who are unhappy, frustrated or disappointed with a thing, person or situation.  Examples:

  • I was dissatisfied with the service I received at the restaurant.
  • She was dissatisfied with his response to her question.

Unsatisfied refers to the feeling of needing more and can be used with abstract items. Examples:

  • Despite the hearty meal, his hunger remained unsatisfied.
  • She has had the bill for three weeks, but it still remained unsatisfied.

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4 Responses to “Dissatisfied, Unsatisfied”

  1. Rob on August 10, 2011 6:10 pm

    ‘She has had the bill for three weeks, but it still remained unsatisfied’ is incomprehensible; how about “……but it remains unpaid? If you want to use the word ‘unsatisfied’ look for a different sentence.

  2. Jeff on December 5, 2011 5:42 am

    Dissatisfied may exclude non-humans. However, I think that Unsatisfied can include humans as well as the abstract.

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