Unsatisfied

Unsatisfied is an adjective meaning not satisfied; lacking fulfillment, contentment, or a met need or desire. It describes states or conditions as well as evaluations of outcomes. For example, someone may be unsatisfied with a meal, an outcome, or a service, and a market may have unsatisfied demand when consumer needs are not met by available supply.

Origin and usage: the word is formed with the prefix un- attached to satisfy. Satisfy comes from Latin satis 'enough' and facere 'to make', and unsatisfied preserves that sense of not having enough or not being fulfilled. Grammatically, unsatisfied is used both attributively (unsatisfied needs) and predicatively (the needs remain unsatisfied). The related noun is dissatisfaction, and the adverb is unsatisfactorily.

Contexts: in psychology and economics, unsatisfied needs or demand are common terms. In everyday language it signals disappointment or a gap between expectations and reality. It is often contrasted with satisfied, content, or fulfilled.

Examples: The committee was unsatisfied with the proposal. There was unsatisfied demand for affordable housing.

See also: dissatisfaction; unfulfilled; unmet; discontent.