satisfice

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈsætəsˌfaɪs/ UK /ˈsætɪsˌfaɪs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to accept an adequate rather than optimal option

Under time pressure, managers tend to satisfice rather than optimize.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to accept an adequate... suffice settle

Opposites

maximize optimize

Word family

Derived forms satisficingsatisficer

Related forms satisfy suffice satisfaction

Etymology

A blend of satisfy and suffice, originally a dialectal variant of satisfy and revived by economist Herbert Simon in the 1950s; ultimately from Latin satisfacere ('to do enough').

satisfacere Latin satis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# satisfice

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsætəsˌfaɪs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsætɪsˌfaɪs/

## Meanings
1. to accept an adequate rather than optimal option

## Examples
- Under time pressure, managers tend to satisfice rather than optimize.

## Synonyms
- suffice
- settle

## Antonyms
- maximize
- optimize

## Derived Forms
- satisficing
- satisficer

## Related Forms
- satisfy
- suffice
- satisfaction

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: satisfacere
- Root: satis

## Etymology
A blend of satisfy and suffice, originally a dialectal variant of satisfy and revived by economist Herbert Simon in the 1950s; ultimately from Latin satisfacere ('to do enough').

## AI Etymology
Satisfice is from a blend of satisfy and suffice, originally a dialectal variant of satisfy and revived by economist Herbert Simon in the 1950s; ultimately from Latin satisfacere ('to do enough'). The historical chain includes Latin satisfacere and Latin satis. Older glosses in the chain include "to do enough", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, satisfice is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to accept an adequate rather than optimal option". English derivatives include satisficing and satisficer; related forms include satisfy, suffice, and satisfaction. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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