6 ms·

I have never come across the use of satisfied for "persuaded by argument or evidence" before. (yes, I had to look it up, not a native speaker) Is this usage com

by tda 6y ago

I have never come across the use of satisfied for "persuaded by argument or evidence" before. (yes, I had to look it up, not a native speaker) Is this usage common or just some kind of legalese?

sneak 6y ago
I don't think it's common, but it certainly isn't legalese.
dempseye 6y ago
It is normal usage.
DanBC 6y ago
It's not legalese, but it is frequently used in judgments.
eutectic 6y ago
I guess it's more common in British English (and maybe a bit old-fashioned?). Edit: google ngrams seems to agree.
- afandian 6y ago
  As in sentences like "I'm satisfied that you did your best" and "I'm satisfied that it contains no gluten". Do those not work in American or other international English?
  - eutectic 6y ago
    According to google ngrams the frequency of 'satisfied that' is 0.00026% in British English and 0.00012% in American English. So only a factor of 2 difference. Interestingly the peak of American usage was in the 1860s (~0.001%), followed by a slow decline, but in Britain there was a small peak around 1920 (~0.00127%), then a higher peak in the 1940s (~0.002%), followed by a rapid decline to the present day.
  - Talanes 6y ago
    No, that's the definition that does track perfectly in American English: where it can be substituted by "pleased."
    - Sharlin 6y ago
      But those sentences are also perfectly meaningful assuming the other sense of "satisfied", which may be what GP meant. Ie. "I am convinced that you did your best" and "I am convinced that it contains no gluten".
      - Talanes 6y ago
        Oh, I definitely agree that those example exist on the fuzzy line, but the question was whether they didn't read to Americans. The more I think about it, the harder the actual barrier between "pleased" and "convinced" is hard to draw.
        tsimionescu 6y ago
        It's not that hard to draw it: 'I am satisfied that this man is the one who killed my dog'. Whether you are convinced that this is the man, or whether you are pleased that this particular man killed your dog are clearly different senses.
        Talanes 6y ago
        But would you not be pleased to be certain who killed your dog? It's not a 1:1 concept mapping, but the conceptual space is close enough that the semantic drift of "satisfied" is completely understandable.
        a0-prw 6y ago
        I am satisfied that I am satisfied that this is the man who killed my dog ;)
ajb 6y ago
Its normal - its even used in Computer Science, eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_satisfiability_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_satisfiability_problem
physicsguy 6y ago
Relatively common in the UK but fairly formal; can be substituted for 'fulfill' pretty much everywhere it's used "You have satisfied the requirements of a degree and have been granted the award of BSc Physics"

by tda 6y ago

I have never come across the use of satisfied for "persuaded by argument or evidence" before. (yes, I had to look it up, not a native speaker) Is this usage common or just some kind of legalese?

sneak 6y ago

I don't think it's common, but it certainly isn't legalese.

dempseye 6y ago

It is normal usage.

DanBC 6y ago

It's not legalese, but it is frequently used in judgments.

eutectic 6y ago

I guess it's more common in British English (and maybe a bit old-fashioned?). Edit: google ngrams seems to agree.

afandian 6y ago
As in sentences like "I'm satisfied that you did your best" and "I'm satisfied that it contains no gluten". Do those not work in American or other international English?
- eutectic 6y ago
  According to google ngrams the frequency of 'satisfied that' is 0.00026% in British English and 0.00012% in American English. So only a factor of 2 difference. Interestingly the peak of American usage was in the 1860s (~0.001%), followed by a slow decline, but in Britain there was a small peak around 1920 (~0.00127%), then a higher peak in the 1940s (~0.002%), followed by a rapid decline to the present day.
- Talanes 6y ago
  No, that's the definition that does track perfectly in American English: where it can be substituted by "pleased."
  - Sharlin 6y ago
    But those sentences are also perfectly meaningful assuming the other sense of "satisfied", which may be what GP meant. Ie. "I am convinced that you did your best" and "I am convinced that it contains no gluten".
    - Talanes 6y ago
      Oh, I definitely agree that those example exist on the fuzzy line, but the question was whether they didn't read to Americans. The more I think about it, the harder the actual barrier between "pleased" and "convinced" is hard to draw.
      - tsimionescu 6y ago
        It's not that hard to draw it: 'I am satisfied that this man is the one who killed my dog'. Whether you are convinced that this is the man, or whether you are pleased that this particular man killed your dog are clearly different senses.
        Talanes 6y ago
        But would you not be pleased to be certain who killed your dog? It's not a 1:1 concept mapping, but the conceptual space is close enough that the semantic drift of "satisfied" is completely understandable.
        a0-prw 6y ago
        I am satisfied that I am satisfied that this is the man who killed my dog ;)

ajb 6y ago

Its normal - its even used in Computer Science, eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_satisfiability_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_satisfiability_problem

physicsguy 6y ago

Relatively common in the UK but fairly formal; can be substituted for 'fulfill' pretty much everywhere it's used "You have satisfied the requirements of a degree and have been granted the award of BSc Physics"