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gratification

noun

Simple meaning

A feeling of pleasure.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gratuhfuhkayshuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɡɹætəfəˈkeɪʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    A feeling of pleasure; satisfaction.

  2. countable

    The act of gratifying or pleasing, either the mind, or the appetite or taste.

  3. countable

    A gratuity; a reward.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A feeling of pleasure; satisfaction.

Used this way, gratification is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use gratification

  • “Dull repetitious work gives no gratification.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

instant gratificationsexual gratificationimmediate gratificationpersonal gratificationgreat gratificationdelayed gratification

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: feeling of pleasure

satisfaction

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.