What does gratify mean?
Word: Gratify
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Gratify means to please someone or give them a feeling of satisfaction; also to satisfy a wish or desire.
Synonyms: please, satisfy, delight, gladden
Antonyms: displease, frustrate
Word origin: Comes from Latin gratificari, 'to do a favour', from gratus, 'pleasing'.
How do you spell gratify?
Syllables: grat - i - fy
Tricky part: The middle vowel is i, not e. Students who think of grateful write gratefy.
Watch out for: gratefy, gratifie, gratafy
Memory tip: Gratify ends with the same i-f-y as purify and simplify; the e of grateful has no place in it.
Gratify in a sentence
Example 1: It gratified the coach to see the shy boy finally score a goal.
Example 2: Her parents were gratified by the warm letter from her class teacher.
Example 3: He bought the toy at once, just to gratify his little brother.
Fun Fact
The word gratis, which means free of charge, grew from the same Latin family of words about favour and thanks.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word gratify as used in the sentence:
The cheering crowd seemed to gratify the young singer after her first concert.
a) encourage
b) surprise
c) entertain
d) disappoint
Show answer
d) disappoint. To gratify is to please, and to disappoint is to let someone down; a crowd can also encourage, entertain or surprise a singer.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Nothing would tyafirg my grandmother more than a full bloom of roses in her garden.
a) terrify
b) gratify
c) glorify
d) ratify
Show answer
b) gratify. Ratify would leave the g unused, and glorify needs an l and terrify an e, neither of which is in the jumble.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
It would gratify the whole team to win the cup after so many early mornings spent practising in the freezeing cold.
a) gratify
b) mornings
c) freezeing
d) practising
Show answer
c) freezeing. Freeze loses its final e before ing, just as make becomes making, so freezeing is the slip.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. pasify 2. dignify 3. clarify 4. gratify
a) to give someone the pleasure of getting what they wanted
b) to calm someone who is upset or cross
c) to make something seem worthy and important
d) to make something easier to understand
Show answer
b) to calm someone who is upset or cross. Pacify is spelt with a c, like pace, so pasify is the misspelt word.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A teacher is gratified when ____.
a) it rains on sports day for the third year
b) her class does well after weeks of effort
c) the school bus breaks down once again
d) the chalk runs out in the middle of class
Show answer
b) her class does well after weeks of effort
2. To gratify a craving for sweets is to ____.
a) write it down
b) laugh at it
c) give in to it
d) forget it
Show answer
c) give in to it
